The Hero Hidden Beneath A Traitor's Clothing
by Fyre Fairie
Summary: Many fear death above all things, especially Voldemort. But when the Grim Reaper soon takes on a human body linked to that of the dark lord. How can he outrun him? A story in which Harry finds love, and Gabrielle Delacour finds a lover in our Lord Death.
1. War

The Hero Hidden Beneath A Traitor's Clothing  
  
Summary: Voldemort is at the height of his power once more, terrorizing both the Muggle and Wizarding World's he is considered unstoppable and ruthless. There is only one person left who can truly defeat him, a boy that the world has set on a pedestal. In his seventh year the boy is now a man and single handedly taking on the dark forces but are the people truly grateful to this mysterious warrior, or will he have to depend on another girl several years younger than him and a complete stranger to believe in him.  
  
Rated: R (for adult content and some violence)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the talented Ms. Rowling does, and the WB has some rights to the series. I just write for the hell of it all, so don't sue. I don't have anything worth taking me to court over.  
  
-Chapter One- War  
  
War- an armed conflict between nations, tribes or other groups or an instance of this || a concerted effort to put down, reduce or exterminate || a state of hostility without resort to arms.  
  
The dictionary definition of war, which he had looked up, was nothing like the sight before his very eyes. Indeed war was a very gruesome and depressing topic. Nothing as clean as how the textbooks depicted the great wars in the past. It was nothing like what Professor Binns described it as.  
  
War was when the air was so clotted with smoke it stung your eyes and lungs making it almost impossible to see and breath. It was when dead, injured, disembodied, and dying bodies were strewn around the battlefield before you. When the screams of people in agony and pain imprinted themselves in your memory along with the faces of the ones you've killed or tried to save only to have them die in your arms. Both innocent and tainted blood seeped into the already moist soil left from the rain.  
  
His body and swords covered with grime, sweat, and most of all many strangers' blood. The building in front of him once a magnificent castle filled with glorious French architecture was now reduced to a pile of rubble with many lives trapped inside still, waiting for someone to help them or already dead from either being crushed or suffocated by the lack of air.  
  
It seemed the Dark Lord's army had struck again. They were slowly taking down major centers, such as schools, ministries, companies, and even important individuals. The only place that hadn't been touched yet was Hogwarts. Many would say that it was because of Albus Dumbledore that Voldemort didn't dare strike the school, but alas that was not the case. While slaughtering the innocent and taking down legions of Aurors the Dark Lord was not afraid of much, except a mysterious man named Smoke that was rumored to be staying at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
The man had no face. Completely shrouded in black he walked with an air of confidence, taking down anyone who stood in his way in a matter of seconds. He was a black blur, a rumble of thunder that sneaks up on you, and a strike of lightening that hits you full force. He appeared and disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke when needed or when departing.  
  
Here this man stood in the middle of a battlefield that used to be the front lawn on Beaxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in France. Two gleaming Japanese Katanas in his gloved hands. Clothed completely in thin, tight black dragon hide leather with several weapons on his body and belt along with a few hidden in his lace up boots. His face hidden by a shadow spell and his hair covered by a black cloth tied over his head into a sort of pony tail at the back and covering half of his forehead.  
  
He wouldn't be recognized from a mile away or a millimeter away by someone that knew him. The only suggestions that gave away the fact that the figure was a man were the fact that his voice was deeper and mature, he stood at the height of 6'3, and his light but very well toned body was clearly a male's.  
  
Looking about with sorrowful eyes at all the destruction he gritted his teeth and clenched his hands around the hilts of his swords he held back an angry scream. It was times like these that he wished he never got the idea of becoming a Ninja Mage into his head. After Voldemort's second rise it was all he could do. While the outside world depended on him to save all of them and maybe even sacrifice himself the people closer to him kept a closer eye on him then Minister Fudge's personal bodyguards did to him.  
  
Everyone treaded on eggshells around him after the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament and treated him like a child. Well no more. He told himself at the time, it was partially his fault that the Dark Lord had risen so it would be he who would defeat him since nobody else could. And if the Aurors and Dumbledore's elite unit, called the Order of the Phoenix couldn't do anything productive then he would have to take matters into his own hands. And so he did.  
  
During the summer after his fourth year he had taken part in combat lessons, gymnastics, and swimming, and dance at the same time. Threatening the Dursley's that if they didn't leave him be he'd most likely hex them without regards to getting expelled because at that point he simply didn't care. He'd still find a way to defeat Voldemort. It was no wonder the sorting hat wanted to place him in Slytherin; he was ambitious, if he wanted something done then it would be done. And he had become great, raised above the others in secret. If only they knew what he was now.  
  
After returning to Hogwarts for his fifth year he became an even more permanent part of the library than Hermione ever had, as well as the gym which Hogwarts hosted on the sixth floor of the east wing and the lake where he swam regularly. After a while he started neglecting his friends, there simply weren't enough hours in the day but he made as much time as possible between Quittich, homework, classes, training, Perfect duties, inventing quite a few things for his purpose, and spying on both The Order of the Phoenix and Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It was a long list, it truly was but he managed to pull it off for two years now.  
  
A part of him wanted to be a regular kid again who hung out with his friends and played Quittich with them, studied for his exams while groaning and moaning from boredom and then giving up to play a game of chess instead. But that part of him was gone, forever. Harry Potter had changed in everyone's eyes especially his own. His friends were becoming suspicious of him, Hermione the most out of all of them. The girl just couldn't keep her nose out of someone else's business, particularly when something is dangerous.  
  
Shaking himself out of his thoughts when a predominantly loud scream reached his ears he squeezed his eyes hut for a moment before opening them and running off to the site of all the rubble. He had killed enough Death Eaters today, and the Aurors could handle the rest and even wait for him but the innocents still trapped in the collapsed building couldn't.  
  
He had gone out on a limb today, upon getting a premonition of the attack the other night he prepared for the battle. Luckily it was a Saturday and he couldn't be missed in classes nor would he have to miss any on Monday if he got injured. But the beginning of the school year always needed a lot of work to be done, mainly since he was the Quittich Captain and Headboy this year. Sirius had said he followed after his father when he found out but the honor of such titles was also a burden to be carried with the rest of his baggage.  
  
The stones the building was previously constructed of were heavy and large, there were way to many to remove by hand or simple levitating charms. Crawling through little passage was not an option without risking everything coming down on you. But he still had an idea. Even though the magic that he was about to use was classified as dark, he didn't believe that.  
  
Magic, was neither light or dark in his opinion, it depended on how you put it to use and even then there were only shades of gray. There was no black and white in the world, no good and evil, just power. Like Voldemort had once told him in his first year, and it was later on in during his fifth year that he realized it was true.  
  
Raising his hands towards the hills and masses of stone he channeled a large amount of power out, turning and crushing the stones and other materials such as glass and personal belongings into a finely powdered sand, with another sweep and swivel he had it all rise into the air above before banishing it towards the battlefield where people were still fighting. That would slow them down enough for more Aurors to arrive, and unfortunately Death Eaters as well. It was a pity Voldemort wasn't there, he would have ground him into the dirt and sent him straight to the depths of hell, or die trying.  
  
Once the sediment had been lifter only bodies were left. Hundreds of bodies. Bodies of children, teachers, house elves, people's familiars. The sight of it all was gruesome. He was to late because they were all crushed, dead, suffocated, you name what else. He went through each one looking for a pulse and as he reached the last few bodies he had almost lost hope that someone amongst them could be saved. They were all lifeless corpses, all taunting him with the knowledge that he didn't get there earlier, that he failed them.  
  
His breathe caught when he recognized two of them. Two sisters, one older than the other and both lying close by. Silver blonde hair was stained with blood and smooth ivory skin was covered in scratches and dirt. The Delacour sisters' lay motionless. With a shaking hand he reached out to find the pulse on Fluer's neck, there was none and he silently cursed the god's for letting such a fate befall these people. No matter what other people thought Harry knew that Fluer was never prude and vain. She simply got tired of being treated like a mere pretty face. But now nobody would know the truth because she was gone and that was the harsh reality of things.  
  
Closing his eyes and praying to whatever deity listening he pressed his bare fingertips against the younger girls neck. If he could not save Fluer he would try and save her sister for her. He remembered the first time he did, when he pulled Gabrielle out of the lake. Fluer had been so happy she had actually stopped treating him like a little boy and gave him the respect not many received from her.  
  
Fearing that she was gone he was surprised when he felt a soft thump against his fingertips. Harry nearly cried out with relief. It seemed someone from above had answered his prayers and he let a warm, salty tear slide down his cheek. The first tear in over two years.  
  
He breathed in shakily and fell to his knees picking up Gabrielle in his arm and placing her on a soft patch of grass. The girl was alive, but not for long if he didn't get the dust out of her lungs so she could breath. Her heartbeat was faint and getting slower and he had to act fast before she slipped through his fingers. Whipping out his wand and whispering a medical spell he read about to cleanse the lungs of a choking victim he opened her mouth and breathed into it trying to get her breathing pattern started.  
  
He squeezed her hand in relief as she laid sputtering and coughing, inhaling sharply and then laying still on her back groaning, probably from a concussion. This would be the second time he saved young Gabrielle Delacour; it's just too bad he couldn't save her sister as well. "Fluer?" she cried weakly, calling for her older sister and trying to sit up, but Harry didn't let her. He pushed her back down on the ground just in case she was badly injured.  
  
"Shhh." He whispered to her lightly. "Lay still we need to portkey you out of here."  
  
"No! What about Fluer?" she asked panicked, her eyes wildly looking about for the other girl. Harry tried to keep her from seeing her but it didn't work. The girl quickly spotted the other blonde and cried out. "Fluer!" Trying to get up she didn't succeed because he just held her down firmly. At one point she even tried hitting him with her fists only to have him restrain her.  
  
"Gabrielle please calm yourself, you're lucky I got you out alive, you were the only survivor it seemed. I'm sorry about your sister, I couldn't do anything you must understand."  
  
Crying loudly she hiccupped and gasped trying to talk. "How do you know who I am?" she asked in surprisingly good English with just a hint of a French accent in it.  
  
"I'm an old friend, I believe we went for a swim together once." He answered and picked her up in his arms letting her ring her pale, thin arms around his neck.  
  
"Do me a favor Gabby, look in my shirt and find the pendant on my necklace, take it firmly in one of your hands and say Transportis Point H." He instructed her and she complied reaching a hand into his dragon hide armor and underneath his shirt to grasp the chain he was wearing and finding a lightening bolt shaped onyx pendant.  
  
The pendant was one of his own inventions. It was a mode of transportation called teleportation. Essentially you could not teleport to anywhere you wanted to but only to the spots you marked with a certain spell and drawn the symbol that the pendant was shaped as on that spot and afterwards naming the location to which you can then recite for a speedy leave. Best of all that kind of transportation could not be detected like apparition nor stopped by anti-apparition wards.  
  
Still curious to the stranger's identity Gabrielle did what she was told between sobs. After saying the proffered incantation she grabbed onto him feeling a slight jerking sensation all of a sudden and screwed her eyes shut at the unfamiliar rush in her body.  
  
'Point H' was actually named for Hogwarts Hospital Wing and in a split of a second a tall man dressed completely in black stood in the Hospital ward of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with a teenaged girl curled up in his arms.  
  
Frankly Harry had never seen Poppy Pomfrey run as fast as she did when he lay the girl onto one of the spare beds and plopped himself wearily into a chair.  
  
"She was the only survivor amongst the Beauxbatons rubble, I tried to get there earlier but by the time I did only she was left." He explained in a weary and drawn out voice making it seem deeper than it was.  
  
Although the mysterious man unnerved her and shocked her when he popped up out of thin air the medi-witch quickly set to work checking the girl over. She had no idea how he apparated in, it wasn't supposed to be possible but there he was. "May I ask what her name is please and yours as well." She inquired of him.  
  
"Her name's Gabrielle Delacour she's about thirteen I think. You can call me Smoke though I think that's enough."  
  
"Fourteen." Gabrielle corrected.  
  
"Alright then its fourteen." He repeated chuckling slightly. She seemed so much younger the last time he saw her. Well then when he was in his fourth year she must have been in her first even if she looked about ten at the time. He wasn't very different at that age either he used to look much younger.  
  
Nodding she continued looking over Gabrielle who reached her hand out and took one of his that just happened to be hanging loosely by his side. Giving her an encouraging yet sympathetic smile he gave her smaller hand a gentle squeeze when he realized she couldn't see him smile because of the shadow spell. Just about to ask him out Madame Pomfrey noticed the joined hands and decided to let him be before going to work fixing a few broken and cracked ribs as well as a few other broken bones and scratches.  
  
"She should get her rest now, I'll be giving her a sleeping potion and perhaps I should check you for any injuries as well." She suggested walking away to look for a Dreamless Sleep potion. He was just about to protest on the check up when he realized that the medi-witch could be stubborn when she wanted to and if it meant making sure someone is healthy the woman went all out. But as soon as she saw even a patch of his skin she'd recognize him.  
  
On the other hand if he ever became injured he would need a medic whom he trusted to treat him properly. Perhaps she'd be the first he spilled his secret to.  
  
"Don't go!" Gabrielle's raspy voice called out to him as got up from his chair. "Please, at least stay until I fall asleep." She pleaded.  
  
"Okay I'll stay." He answered her softly.  
  
Relieved that he would stay with her she reached out toward him and gripped his hand. "Will you be here when I wake up?" Her fear of being left along rose steadily now that she had no one left. Ever since the war against Voldemort's army had started her relatives had fallen one by one and her sister was her last living relative. Now that Fluer was gone she felt close to this mysterious man and strangely relaxed with his presence as if she already knew him from somewhere.  
  
The desperate look on the blonde's face did not help to make matters better. He had rescued her, but now that he had he couldn't simply leave her behind. But there were things to be taken care of and another weight was settled on his shoulders. He would protect her, no matter what. He owed it to Fluer, for getting there to late.  
  
"I might not be here when you awake," he spoke the truth and her face fell. "But," he continued and took off one of his gloves. Underneath it gleaming on his right ring finger was a platinum ring with an onyx lightening bolt symbol imbedded into the precious metal. The ring was quite special to him, it was a family heirloom on the Potter side of the family and each time it was passed down to a blood relative it would take their symbol. Just like his magical signature and symbol was a lightening bolt the ring depicted it as well. He had found it in his Gringotts vault one day and was surprised to find hundreds of ancient protection spells on it, probably more than Hogwarts itself held courtesy of each of it's previous owners of course.  
  
Placing the ring on her right middle finger, it fit snuggly since the ring adjusted itself to fit on any sized finger, he held up her hand to display the ring to her. Since she was not a blood relative of his family the lightening bolt did not change and the protection spells remained, plus one, which he had added quickly.  
  
"I want you to keep this for me. I'll hop in to check up on it so don't expect me to desert you anytime to soon." He said teasingly and patted her hand rather awkwardly oblivious as to how he was supposed to go about treating her.  
  
"I'll take good care of it. But you still haven't told me who my hero is."  
  
"Like I said before," he said. "We once had a swim at the bottom of a lake." Getting up for a minute he stretched his tall form. Gabrielle could see each of his muscles contracting and stretching then relaxing a bit. The blonde's skin flushed a bit, her savior obviously had a great body. A body you would only see on male models.  
  
"I'll go see what's taking Madame Pomfrey so long." Briskly exiting the curtained area he peered his head around the corner of the main ward to see the answer to his question. There by the medicines counter and cabinets stood Professor Dumbledore, alighted with a deep and curious expression. The medi-witch was no doubt telling the old man about him and how he'd brought Gabrielle in.  
  
Noticing the black clad figure standing between the doorway o the entrance to the hospital wing and the main ward the aged wizard smiled slightly, his light blue eyes twinkling in their merry way while the whole time his frail body seemed to carry the weight of the world. //What weight?!\\ Harry almost snorted to himself. //He's barely leading the Order of the Phoenix anywhere besides their main meeting room in the north tower.\\  
  
"Ah I see I finally get to meet the legendary Smoke the newspapers and countless others have been speaking of."  
  
"I believe that if the public spent more time preparing and taking action against Voldemort's dark army rather than spreading rumors about someone who's decided to actually step up and fight then the war would be long over. Hell it may have never begun in the first place."  
  
He answered surprising two of the members of the Hogwarts staff. He had no doubt shocked them with his usage of the Dark Lord's name as well, now even more people than before had started calling the monster You-Know-Who. Frankly Harry believed the bastard didn't deserve that much attention, and in a lot of ways respect. By not saying his name people are respecting him with their fear of him, unwittingly maybe but still done.  
  
"Yes well the world needs something to believe in don't they, and who better than a warrior just like out of children's comic books." Was the man seriously mocking him? Over the years Dumbledore had become more suspicious of people through experience and did he have a lot of it! The Headmaster was more gullible than a newborn puppy or a toddler.  
  
"The last time I checked there weren't any comic book characters named Smoke who stood against Voldie and his Death Eaters. Of course they may have added one by now, I really wouldn't know." Turning away from the Professor signaling it as the end of their brief conversation he addressed the medi-witch.  
  
"I didn't mean to trouble you Madame but I was wondering if you had that sleeping potion for Gabrielle ready."  
  
Astonished from the sudden change in his behavior, from being a sarcastic ass towards Dumbledore and a polite young man towards her she shook her head. "No we ran out and I sent a message to our Potions Master to brew one. It should be ready for Ms. Delacour in about ten more minutes. I might as well check you out for any damage."  
  
Eyeing the Headmaster for a second he responded negatively. "No thank you I am quite alright I'll just go say farewell to Gabby and I'll be leaving." Poppy Pomfrey wasn't about to protest no matter how much she wanted. The man may be on the light side but he was considered dangerous and the Ministry of Magic was not only wary of him but was after his head claiming he was playing a rouse to get on their good side before striking them where it hurt the most.  
  
The public believed in him however and so did she. Just by bringing the girl and staying with her showed that this stranger had a good heart. There was something strangely familiar though, she knew she recognized his physic from somewhere. There were very few men with body like his but it was hard to place. Could he have been a former Hogwarts student? Perhaps she'd have a chat with Albus about that one, but judging by the way the stranger avoided the old man maybe it wouldn't be such a great idea. For now Poppy would do her job and keep her theories to herself.  
  
"Yes well.Smoke," the Headmaster awkwardly butted into the conversation. "I might know something that you would be interested. Perhaps I could have a moment of your time?"  
  
Sighing he nodded briefly. "After I talk to Gabrielle." //This is going to be such a long day and I think I know what he wants.\\  
  
Back in the main ward he re entered the curtained off area where Gabrielle was staying only to find that the girl fell fast asleep from all the exhaustion, and he didn't blame her one bit because he felt like a boulder about to drop to the bottom of a lake as well. Going to her beside table he picked up a quill and dipped it into some ink before scrawling a quick little message. Before leaving he transfigured two long stem roses, one white and the other red, placing them in a vase full of water he pressed his lips to her forehead clumsily. //So this is how it feels to have a younger sibling to take care of.\\ he marveled. Although he did not know her well and had only talked to her twice Harry already felt she was like family, family he would look after.  
  
Outside back in the entrance of the ward the Headmaster was still waiting for him but this time with a new addition, several actually. Not only was Professor Snape with him, whom had delivered the Sleeping Draught just in time, but so was Professor Mcgonagal. And he nearly had a heart failure when he saw the two others, Mad-eye Moody and Remus Lupin who were standing talking to Dumbledore would recognize him right away. Moody would see through his shadow spell with his magic eye and Remus would be able to identify his scent on first sniff as Harry Potter.  
  
He then discovered that Albus Dumbledore could have been a worthy candidate for a Slytherin, the sneaky old man wanted to expose him and just like Hermione he had to stick his nose into matters far beyond his reach.  
  
His footsteps were silent and Remus was the first to notice him walk in. He probably smelled his former pupil Harry Potter from over his direction and turned to greet him. Seeing him confused the lyncanthrope some as he discreetly searched for his best friend's son. Taking a few more wifts of the air the scent that greeted his nose came directly from Smoke and immediately his eyes bugged out and throat constricted.  
  
Shaking his head slightly and putting his finger up to his lips he indicated for Lupin to keep quiet. The sputtering noises Remus was making alerted everyone to his presence and the next to recognize him was Mad-eye. To say the least the retired Auror had been surprised but wisely stayed silent and unwavering. //Smart man.\\ Harry thought and smiled wryly sure that the older man would see it. //I bet he's proud. I've been using his 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE' advice for a long time.\\  
  
Chuckling lightly he examined the others. Of course like everyone else Severus Snape regarded him coolly and gave him his most intimidating glare. //Oh very scary Snapey.\\ he thought sarcastically nearly laughing.  
  
The Deputy Headmistress had a stern look on her face as well. Her lips were tightly pressed together, so tight Harry was afraid they'd disappear altogether on of these days. She looked over him quickly, taking in his blood soaked tight dragon hide leather and the many weapons he wore. //Yes Professor there are actually other methods of fighting, contrary to popular belief.\\  
  
In his opinion muggle weapons were much more efficient than wands. You can't heal the injuries made by muggle weapons easily. Neither can a wand be so precise and unexpected as a muggle weapon. It was to bad the magical community didn't understand how useful guns, swords, and bombs could be. They could cause more destruction in a matter of seconds than Voldemort did in both his reigns of power, and that was saying something.  
  
"I didn't expect you to gather a whole council while I was making my farewell Headmaster. What is this? Some conspiracy to turn me into the Ministry? Smooth move if it is." He chuckled uncaring about the whole situation. Both Remus and Moody were rather shocked at his behavior. They probably expected him to stay the skinny little boy with messy black hair and round rimmed black glasses. Well to bad for them, he wasn't going to stay a child forever.  
  
"Not to worry Mr. Smoke, we have just gathered for a rather important meeting that may concern you." Mcgonagal informed him calmly betraying her sharp look.  
  
"Smoke," he countered. "Just Smoke if you'd please." He was rather fond of the nickname people gave him about a year ago. It symbolized his personality, like a cloud of smoke it could be deadly or it could be helpful at times.  
  
She understood and he followed the group to the third floor of the castle where the Headmaster's office was located behind a stone gargoyle. The whole time Remus had trailed behind walking at his pace and giving him nervous glances.  
  
Leaning over to whisper in his ear Lupin softly spoke. "Snuffles is going to kill you when he finds out how much danger you are putting yourself into." He admonished Harry as if he was a three year old and received a much harsher reply.  
  
"Yeah well I don't see anyone else doing anything, I'm not going to wait around for someone to come and save us all. And it seems to me I'm doing a damn good job of it better than the crummy Ministry and your silly little Order of the Phoenix. And if you want to talk about who's going to kill whom Remus I suggest you murder Sirius when you next see him. Did you know he was sent out to the Beaxbatons battle? Yeah and apparently both the Aurors and the Death Eaters almost killed him. I suggest you keep him on a leash next time because I can't keep an eye on his arse and Voldemort's all the time."  
  
Paling the werewolf said in a hushed tone. "You're right about me killing him, where is he now?" he was worried now. Worried for his best friend, for his mate, for one of the only people in the world he had left.  
  
"Not to worry I brought him to your hide out a while before I brought Gabby to the Hospital wing. Unfortunately I also had to drug him because he wouldn't stay put even with half of him broken." He grimaced at the thought. His godfather was not in good condition when he found him and healing him was no simple matter. It took a good deal of time and effort especially when the man wouldn't even trust him.  
  
"You didn't drug him with anything lethal?" Even though he already knew the answer to his question Remus still needed reassurance that his friend was all right.  
  
"Nah, just a sleeping potion that won't wear off for about another five hours, by then you'll be there to stop him from doing something stupid, of course he'll also be more sore than a pin cushion but he'll survive."  
  
Frowning almost alarmingly he poked at him with another question. "Wait a minute, how did you even know where our hideout is? Not to mention how you know what the Order of the Phoenix is?"  
  
"You will find dear Remus that I know quite a lot. After all walls have eyes and ears just like everyone else does." He said letting the other man hang on theoretical strings for a minute.  
  
Looking at him strangely they were almost there when Remus got in the last word trying to change the subject to something more cheerful. "Gabby, is it? Hmm.very interesting." He teased.  
  
"What's interesting?" he asked almost violently and scowled aware that the other man couldn't see his face.  
  
But they were already there and heading up the stairs to the Headmasters office. One more time Harry repeated his question clearly agitated before entering. Remus seemed to think something was amusing.  
  
Of course Dumbledore had most likely noticed their friendly dialogue even if he couldn't here it. Harry guessed the lyncanthrope would be heavily questioned about it later on. //Poor Remus, I hope Snape won't go as far as slip him Veritaserum in his pumpkin juice.\\  
  
"Please sit everyone." The aged wizard gestured to several chairs scattered along the space. On his perch Fawkes twittered lightly and sang a note.  
  
Alarmed Harry practically begged to the gods for Fawkes not to recognize him and if he did to leave him alone. The phoenix didn't fly to many people willingly and if it did they were familiars. He'd be in a deep whole buried up to his neck if the bird showed any sign of realizing whom he was. Luckily Fawkes seemed to calm himself after a minute and didn't even turn a feather in his direction, which was odd but relieving.  
  
"So what is this all about?" Smoke started off trying to get their little 'meeting' over with as fast as possible. He was a busy man after all.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
I am so high, I can hear heaven  
  
I am so high, I can hear heaven  
  
Whoa, but heaven...no, heaven don't hear me  
  
And they say  
  
That a hero could save us  
  
I'm not gonna stand here and wait  
  
I'll hold onto the wings of the eagles  
  
Watch as we all fly away  
  
Someone told me  
  
Love would all save us  
  
But, how can that be  
  
Look what love gave us  
  
A world full of killing  
  
And blood spilling  
  
That world never came  
  
And they say  
  
That a hero could save us  
  
I'm not gonna stand here and wait  
  
I'll hold onto the wings of the eagles  
  
Watch as we all fly away  
  
Now that the world isn't ending  
  
It's love that I'm sending to you  
  
It isn't the love of a hero  
  
And that's why I fear it won't do  
  
And they say  
  
That a hero could save us  
  
I'm not gonna stand here and wait  
  
I'll hold onto the wings of the eagles  
  
Watch as we all fly away  
  
And they're watching us  
  
They're watching us  
  
As we all fly away  
  
And they're watching us  
  
They're watching us  
  
As we all fly away  
  
And they're watching us  
  
They're watching us  
  
As we all fly away --- Hero by Nickleback  
  
************************************AUTHOR'S NOTE**********************************  
  
Hi everyone reading this story! I hoped you like the fist chapter of this story enough to REVIEW PLEASE!!!  
  
Let me know what you think and keep in touch, the next chapter will be out shortly.  
  
By the way check out my other story "Child of Darkness, Child of Light." I'm updating almost daily and so far I'm getting positive feedback on it. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW PLEASE I WOULD APPRECIATE IT TREMENDOUSLY! 


	2. Suspicion Is Thy Enemy

The Hero Hidden Beneath A Traitor's Clothing  
  
Summary: Voldemort is at the height of his power once more, terrorizing both the Muggle and Wizarding World's he is considered unstoppable and ruthless. There is only one person left who can truly defeat him, a boy that the world has set on a pedestal. In his seventh year the boy is now a man and single handedly taking on the dark forces but are the people truly grateful to this mysterious warrior, or will he have to depend on another girl several years younger than him and a complete stranger to believe in him.  
  
Rated: R (for adult content and some violence)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the talented Ms. Rowling does, and the WB has some rights to the series. I just write for the hell of it all, so don't sue. I don't have anything worth taking me to court over.  
  
  
  
-Chapter Two- Suspicion is thy enemy  
  
"So what is this all about?" Smoke started off trying to get their little 'meeting' over with as fast as possible. He was a busy man after all.  
  
Looking uneasily at each other everyone except Remus, Alastor Moody, and Harry started blabbering on about some kind of group. Harry could care less whether he heard a word or not, what they wanted was obvious.  
  
Trying to regain some semblance Dumbledore shot red sparks from his wand and gave them a firm "Quite please!" before taking lead in the meeting.  
  
"Now without further ado I shall explain why we have brought you here, you are no doubt curious about that I'm sure." The Headmaster asked him expecting a nod in return.  
  
Shaking his head in a negative motion he shrugged uninterested. "No, actually I already know why you want me here." He answered confusing several in the room.  
  
"I doubt it." Snape murmured from his position in the farthest chair from him. Turning to him and inwardly smirking Harry had waited a long way to tell the Potions Master off and here was his chance.  
  
"You doubt it do you?" he asked playfully almost laughing. "Mr. Snape you must seriously under estimate me. Is it the fact that I'm actually making more progress than the Order of the Phoenix is put together the fact why you hate me already? Or it the fact that even though I never was a Death Eater I receive much more useful information from the inner circle than you do?" he teased having the other man sputter momentarily and glare at him. And if looks could kill Harry would have been dead ten times over and Snape would be subjected to the Dementor's Kiss by then.  
  
"How do you know about the Order?" he growled and ground his teeth. Afraid that if the man clenched his teeth any harder he might break them Harry answered amused by the situation.  
  
"Why Mr. Snape you'll soon learn I know a lot of things, after all like I've told other's walls have eyes and ears like the rest of us." He told him puzzling them all.  
  
"So you spy on the Order as well as Voldemort?" he was clearly enraged, it didn't take much to agitate the Potions master, but to make him mad beyond mad was quite a feat. Of course Sirius could get him even more riled up but that came from years of grudges and hatred towards each other. But here Smoke sat barely knowing the man and already getting to him. The corner of Professor Snape's right eye started twitching madly and all he wanted to do was roll on the floor and laugh.  
  
"Spying." he paused briefly to rethink what he was about to say. "Is such a harsh word. In order to spy on someone don't you have to pretend to be in league with them, or at least stick around long enough to get some juicy information?" Across the room he received several nods but the dark haired man stayed rigid in his seat. "Well I don't pretend to be loyal to either side neither do I stay around to make idol talk and pry into matters that don't concern me. I have other ways of getting my information." He answered and thought //Much, much better ways.\\  
  
Thoroughly curious now the Headmaster looked pensive as if trying to figure something out. He cleared his throat lightly making sure barely anyone could hear him and did the strangest thing. Of course in a normal person's point of view it wouldn't be in the least unusual.  
  
Smoke observed as the old man raised a hand motioning for Snape to stop his torrent of questions and nodded to him, out of the corner of his eye Snape nodded back with a strange gleam in his eye. //Their up to something and I don't like it.\\  
  
Trying to end the ever-present tension in the room Dumbledore stood and waved his wand at the surface of his desk where a tray with a tea set materialized. "Would anyone care for tea, I sometimes find it soothes the nerves at times like these." Most everyone agreed while Harry wisely didn't comment but answered the Headmaster when he asked how he likes his tea.  
  
"One lump of sugar and some lemon on the side if you'd please Headmaster." He said making sure the combination was different from what he really liked.  
  
Surprisingly enough he asked Professor Snape to distribute the tea, which the man willingly did.  
  
//Okay; now I know something fishy is going on here. Snape would never willingly wait on anyone.\\  
  
Next to him Remus started fidgeting nervously and once Harry was handed his cup of tea, which seemed normal to the eye the other man nearly jumped biting his lip. Giving the werewolf an imploring look Smoke pretended to take a sip from his cup while actually swallowing excess saliva to make it look real and while nobody was looking he spilled a minimum amount of liquid into the flower pot sitting on a small coffee table next to him. All went unnoticed except by Remus who looked somewhat relieved.  
  
Setting his tea down next to the flowerpot Smoke cleared his throat in preparation to address his issues. "Before we get to your concern I'd like to know if Gabrielle has any relatives she'll be staying with, perhaps her parents or grandparents? I'd like to pass my condolences onto them."  
  
Marginally surprised the old man shook his head. "The Delacour's have been a big help in this war and it has cost the family their lives, I regret to say that Ms. Delacour's only family left was her older sister Fluer." He paused letting it sink in and Harry breathed a labored sigh.  
  
//Another child orphaned by Voldemort, the fucking bastard! It seems this time I'm not the only one who survived, I'm sure Fluer had tried keeping Gabby alive as long as possible resulting in her own death.\\  
  
"I'm sure once she finds out Fluer will come and claim her sister, I have no doubts that she'd be ecstatic to know that the child is alright." The old man continued and somewhere in the back of his mind Harry wanted to gag right there. They still didn't know how many were lost. How could they just sit there so calmly discussing affairs they know nothing about. //Some elite force they are!\\  
  
"That's the problem Fluer was killed in the collapse of Beaxbatons, Gabrielle was the only one I found alive and she was barely alive at that." //Maybe I can take care of her, once I finish Hogwarts this year I'll be of age. The girl will never have to know what it's like to be an orphan. I don't want that for her and I owe her that much at least.\\  
  
"If she has no other family then I'd like to take responsibility for her, she shouldn't know what it's like to have no family and while we're in a state of war I highly doubt you can find someone to take her in during the summers." He said surprising everyone.  
  
After a few moments of silence when he was sure everyone in the room was wondering how a hero, but yet a killer could want to take care of a young girl without anything in return.  
  
"Why would you want to take care of her? Have some ulterior motives?" the Potions Master sneered.  
  
"Because," he answered repulsed by what the other man was accentuating. He was actually proposing that Smoke was a child molester! How absurd! "I feel responsible, I owe Fluer that much for not being there in time."  
  
"Oh so you're some kind of boyfriend to the late Delacour." The greasy git actually dared to propose that he had sexual relations with the older Veela. If he weren't supposed to be working on the same side as Snape he would spit in his face. It seemed the man had no respect for the dead that at least was obvious just like the rest of the Slytherins don't.  
  
"No, just a friend. I'd be willing to let Gabby stay with me over the summers between her Hogwarts years."  
  
"I'm afraid," Dumbledore spoke. "That will not be possible Smoke, due to some legal basics." Smoke groaned almost beating himself on the head. Of course! They didn't even know who he was let alone his age, financial situation, if he was suitable enough to take care of another person.  
  
"I understand the legalities here but considering the situation I figured that it would be alright especially if Voldemort found out not only was there a boy-who-lived that survived him but now there is a girl-who-lived and I'm sure that he'll be after her as well as Harry Potter. While he has practically a whole unit watching his every move she's left unprotected. And outside of Hogwarts she has no blood relatives to stay with. Who better to protect her than the one person who will stand up to the Dark Lord and fight him tooth and hair?"  
  
Considering the situation Dumbledore nodded figuring somewhere in his mind that Smoke was right after all. Gabrielle would need protection. "That may be so but young Gabrielle did not survive from a deadly curse that she fought off on her own but was saved from inside a collapsed building." He didn't even want to mention how the man knew Harry Potter stayed with blood relatives over the summer with a number of charms protecting him because of them.  
  
"No you're wrong, she survived while nobody else did. She fought to stay alive, fought with her own internal magic and with the help with her sister's last breath just like Potter's mother saved him with the boost of what little magic he had." He countered openly opposing the headmaster whom was considered the greatest wizard since Merlin.  
  
"That is where you are wrong Smoke," the old man folded his hands before him placing them on his desk and leaning forward to address him. "Mr. Potter's mother didn't help him one bit she died before a single bead of magic could escape her wand. What he did was not only extraordinary but impossible in anyone else's rights." Harry was nearly sitting on the edge of his seat expecting further explanation but none came. After all these years the Headmaster still wouldn't tell him how he survived and why Voldemort wanted him dead. Sadly it was one of the few things he couldn't find out on his own and the next question that greeted him greatly surprised him.  
  
"Now Smoke, I believe that it is about time to get to other things." Pause. "Like who you are, would you kindly state your name, birth date, occupation outside of your escapades."  
  
Harry sat dumbfounded by the man's demand. Did he actually expect him to answer even if he asked nicely? What were they expecting? After staying silent for a few minutes he saw the Potions master furrow his eyebrows and stare at the cup of tea they all thought he drained earlier instead of pouring it out into the flowerpot where the small greenery in it was slowly dying.  
  
"Was I supposed to answer that?" he blinked finally realizing what was going on. They tried to drug him with Veritaserum! Sneaky bastards. "I wasn't expecting to be drugged when I came here Professor, what kind of hospitality do you possess if any? Honestly just because I consume a potion doesn't mean it will take effect on me." He chuckled dryly feeling extremely lucky for the moment. In truth the Veritaserum would have taken effect and he probably would have ended up spilling his guts to them all. His luck had stepped in once again. Good thing he never ran out of it.  
  
"It seems we have underestimated you and I greatly apologize you see it was a measure of security. You must understand that nobody is quite sure who's side you are on, you do not fight with either you just go solo. The Order of the Phoenix has been wondering a great deal about you as well as hoping you would fight alongside us."  
  
Shaking his head ruefully, he couldn't believe this man. He wasn't even chagrinned at having been caught. At least Remus and Minerva were sympathetic to him. Moody was grinning a lopsidedly making his scarred face look all the more contorted. All the while his Constant Vigilance theory was coming in play again and he spoke up toward it.  
  
"Good Lad!" he called loudly surprising them all. "Always remember CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He yelled the last part loudly making everyone present jump and Snape to role his eyes. "Even in the hands of an ally maintain CONSTANT VIGILANCE." He barked the last word slamming his fist on Dumbledore's desk.  
  
"Of course, after all you can hardly trust anyone these days even your closest friends and family." He answered.  
  
"That's hardly true Smoke." Minerva Mcgonagal huffed from her position by Snape. "I doubt someone's closest friends let alone their immediate family would betray them."  
  
Oh if she knew how wrong she was. "Always the trusting little Gryffindor, Professor Mcgonangal." He smirked and shook his head. "The world would be so much easier if we could all make assumptions like that, but unfortunately we can't. People are all different it is human nature to be scared, to turn to what seems like the winning side. But in reality there is no black and white. There is no good and evil. There is nothing but what you want, what you believe in and it all narrows down to power. I never thought I would say this but in some cases Voldemort it right. Slytherins can be right, we are all fools that can't see beyond what our mind wants us to and that's what causes destruction." He spoke softly but clearly putting vague disbelief into people's minds.  
  
Remus, whom had known Harry for quite a while had always pictured him as a bright boy, a Gryffindor in all aspects but now to hear such words come out of the boy's mouth was disastrous. It was crushing to the heart to see what could have been a normal innocent boy become this steel like warrior. He was right though we only see what we want to. That is how Pettigrew ended up betraying them.  
  
"Well I don't believe in such things, I believe in good and evil Smoke and I refuse to see things in gray." The woman answered pressing her lips together again.  
  
"Like I said you believe that because you want. I happen to know you are a brilliant woman, Minerva," He said causing her cheeks to color some. "But you lack observation skills and common sense." Her expression changed visibly and she frowned in outrage.  
  
"You see you can only view things in gray. Lets take Tom Riddle for example. I believe you remember Tom Riddle from school don't you Minerva?" he asked since the transfiguration teacher was in Hogwarts the same year as him.  
  
"Yes he was in Slytherin and later became Head boy, unfortunately he disappeared after that." She said giving Harry something else to amuse himself with and to plant into their heads.  
  
Looking toward the Headmaster he grinned seeing the old man focusing on him with his imperial gaze. "Tsk, tsk," he shook his finger at the old man. "I see that you haven't told them who Tom Riddle really is."  
  
Dumbledore didn't answer, a good choice he thought and he went on. "Minerva if you put Tom Marvolo Riddle's name on a piece of paper and jumble the letters do you know what you will come out with?" he spoke as if to a small child trying to explain a complicated subject.  
  
"No, why don't you inform us all Smoke." She urged him on albeit bewildered in her approach.  
  
"You get the words I Am Lord Voldemort." Gasps were heard all around them, while Mad-eye grunted and Remus' eyes bugged out again. "You see Voldemort was not born evil after all, instead he was molded and sculpted into a Dark Lord by outside influences. Such as house rivalry, being an orphan, who knows what else but now you have to see that it's absolutely true."  
  
"Albus is this true?" she implored receiving a single nonchalant nod from the old man.  
  
"Then I have another example," he rushed on taking favor in humiliating the man that kept so much to himself. The man that to this day tried to manipulate him. //You may have been able to make me your pawn while I was younger but I'm onto you.\\ he thought.  
  
"No need for another example Smoke." The Headmaster held up a hand haltingly trying to keep the torrent of stories from affecting his image any more.  
  
"Drat!" he exclaimed sarcastically and beat his gloved hand against the arm of his chair. "I was hoping to tell them the story of how Peter Pettigrew betrayed the Potter's and framed Sirius Black for betrayal and murder. Quite an interesting story I assure you." He sneered at the man.  
  
"I'm afraid we already know that story." Minerva answered briskly.  
  
"Oh? Well did you know about the one where Potter's own friends are doubting his loyalty?" He said bitterly towards them. "To actually assume such a thing is more than ridiculous yet they still do it. Just because Ms. Granger needs to stick her nose into everything, the girl even believes she can find out who the mysterious Ninja Mage Smoke is." He laughed again and from Remus' point of observation it was a highly threatening laugh. It seemed eerie for someone without a face to laugh like that.  
  
"Oh let me guess, you are another member of the Harry Potter fan club the Potions master sneered his way. What little respect the man was gathering for him was slowly diminishing with that assumption.  
  
"No, there you go assuming things again. Just because I say something like that doesn't mean I worship the boy. Quite the contrary he is just a boy saved by his own mother from a gruesome monster and now possess' a highly disturbing level of luck. But like I said earlier I know a lot things and one of them is that he isn't a Death Eater. You should know that yourself Severus, but then again you'd hardly speak up in his defense. Am I correct in that?"  
  
"It is probably so." The man smirked almost evilly then his face fell into a deep grimace at his next statement.  
  
"See Professor we just may become best friends yet." He teased getting highly amused reactions all around the room all except for the man himself and Dumbledore whom was still brooding and most likely planning his murder or something along those lines.  
  
"I highly doubt such a thing unless you have a high understanding of Potions and the Dark Arts." It seemed it was possible to get a positive reaction out of the former Death Eater because the corner of his mouth twitched slightly in a refrained smile.  
  
"Well you're in luck on the Dark Arts part I'm just afraid I never had a real hang on Potions. You see my teacher was a brilliant Potions Master, not at all unlike yourself but unfortunately he didn't have the social or teaching skills to get anything through to anyone's head. Of course the fact that he hated my guts didn't help me any." He smiled ruefully behind the shadow spell that still continued to hide his face. He shook his head at the irony of talking to the Potions Master about the man's teaching habits while the other didn't even know it.  
  
It had taken Harry just a few seconds to remember Gabrielle again and how they'd gotten off topic. "It seems that we've gotten far ahead of ourselves here when I wasn't even finished discussing Gabrielle's situation. If you won't give me custody over her then where will she stay? Surely not in some orphanage?!" He proclaimed.  
  
"No not in an orphanage though I believe the Weasley's have been offering to take in a few children. They are a wonderful family and I'm sure Molly and Arthur Weasley will gladly allow a visit with young Gabrielle's permission of course." Harry nodded albeit sadly. The Weasley's were a wonderful family, they had taken him in as a surrogate son themselves and he had no doubt they would take care of Gabrielle, but they were never meant to care for her. It was his responsibility now. His fault he didn't get there in time for her sister as well.  
  
"I see.and they will be able to take care of her without any hitches? I am aware they are lacking in some financial support, I'd be glad to pay for her expenses and help them out a little." That's what he'd been doing for the past two years. Adding to their account little by little. And since he'd gotten a job in the muggle world just that summer, which paid exquisitely and would take attention and suspicion off of him he was able to add even more and have plenty enough for himself. Of course his line of work was a little strange and unexpected he didn't exactly pick it himself.  
  
"That would be appreciated but Molly tells me that someone has been adding to their account already. The Goblins at Gringotts explained that the person wishes to be anonymous and refuse to tell them anything further." He nodded smiling. Moody had no doubt figured out whom the anonymous donor was judging by his reaction, something akin to being proud.  
  
"Well then I understand there is not much I can do, but with your permission I'd like to visit her while she's at Hogwarts. That is.assuming that she is allowed to stay here and continue her education."  
  
"Of course, of course. I'll register her right away and a sorting will take place as soon as our resident medi-witch proclaims her healthy enough to leave the hospital wing." He answered and made a quick note on a piece of parchment on his desk. "Now I believe we got off on the wrong foot Smoke. Originally I was planning to invite you to the Order of the Phoenix, that invitation still stands."  
  
Harry heaved a sigh and rubbed his weary eyes with the bottoms of his hands. If he joined then he could probably provide ample information to the Order thus preventing something like the Beaxbatons incident from happening again. Speaking of the Beaxbatons incident. "Why didn't you take heed of my warning about Beaxbatons? I've been sending you information with owls each one has turned out to be true yet you follow up on none of them." He accused them.  
  
The Headmaster gave him a blank stare for a moment and what he said next drove Smoke's stomach down so much it felt like it was a puddle at the bottom of his boots. "We never received any warnings." There it was the hard truth. All this while he'd been mad at the Order for not taking action when they could but they never even knew of these events. So he was being deliberately harsh with a practically innocent man.  
  
"What do you mean you never received them?! I made sure they were delivered here." It was true he put tracking spells on the letters and once they warned him they were at Hogwarts he took them off. But what if someone from the inside had stolen them before the Order could.  
  
"Plainly saying we never received any means we never received any Smoke. Your owls must have been intercepted by someone." Snape said dryly and rolled his eyes proclaiming Smoke as a mere stain in his robes. Something irritating and that he needed to get rid of.  
  
"I put tracking spells on them until they were here!" he said defending himself. "So if they were intercepted then they were intercepted by someone from the inside. It looks like I'll be personally delivering them from now on." He cut in.  
  
Nobody said anything for those few seconds. And after a while Harry realized that they were waiting on Smoke's answer, whether or not he was going to take sides with the Order of if he would continue gallivanting around the country, acting hero. The only person that wasn't trying to hide how impatient they were becoming was Severus Snape but thankfully he had the grace not to push on the subject and embarrass him right away.  
  
"I understand that you are waiting on my answer and I've decided with careful consideration towards my cause that I will not swear myself into the Order of the Phoenix," several disappointed and confused faces met him and Snape was just about to go gouge his eyes out with his wand that he was methodically twirling in his fingers. "But," he said making everyone glance back towards him. "But I will go to your meetings and supply you with information if the same is done for me."  
  
"If you're going to show up then you might as well swear yourself in." Snape jumped at the fist chance he could to bark at him. And Harry decided that despite some rivalry and a million grudges between the two men, Sirius and Severus were both very alike men yet so different. They both had flaring tempers to send them to hell. Except Sirius wasn't nearly as biased and would never be deliberately cruel to anyone but an enemy.  
  
"Because you'll soon learn I'm not one to follow others, I enjoy my freedom and I work better alone. But it would highly benefit my cause to have a whole group there to help out and prevent something like the Beaxbatons incident from happening once more. Face it we need each other but I'm not a loyal little Hufflepuff to anyone but my friends. I assure you I would not switch sides but I simply don't stick around all the times, I'm a busy man after all."  
  
"That will do I suppose, we will have to go out on a limb right now and trust you as best as possible." The Headmaster adjourned.  
  
"What is there not to trust?" Harry asked perplexed at the man's answer. "I've been fighting openly against Voldemort for a year now and secretly sabotaging his other operations for two years. You're making silly assumptions about me just because you can't see my face and don't know my name. I realize people fear the unknown but the only reason you have to fear me is if you cross me and even then I doubt I'll chop you to bits." He said chuckling a bit at their stricken faces when he mentioned chopping them to bits.  
  
"Yes you are right but in these times we could not trust someone who appears to be on our side but keeps his face hidden because he is secretly a Death Eater who wishes to infiltrate our forces." Minerva answered him only to have Moody step in with an ear splitting "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"  
  
The transfiguration teacher nodded slightly rubbing at her temples. "Yes thank you for reminding us of that theory, Alastor."  
  
Laughing cheerfully at them he slapped his knee lightly hearing the echo of the pads on his gloves hit his Dragon hide leather pants. "Aww come on Moody you can't be serious you know perfectly well you can trust me, as well does Remus so stop playing with the constant vigilance we already know what it's all about why don't you humor us with something else." He suggested and the retired auror surprisingly laughed dryly with him.  
  
"Aye, you're one of the best lad's I've known in a long time but I figured that a bit of comic relief would do us all some good." And like a speeding bullet he whipped out his wand out of no where and shot a simple disarming spell at Smoke who like a bolt of lightening let his immediate reflexes take over as he took out his own and put up a fast shield before throwing a full body bind hex at the auror whom didn't have any time to move before he even realized Harry had his wand out and was hit square in the chest. His arms and legs locking to his rigid body as he watched Smoke looming over him with a derisive smirk.  
  
"Yes Alastor you taught well, and I'll never forget constant vigilance." He said and let the man's body free of the hex before helping him up off the floor. Mad-eye Moody had actually been one of his favorite teachers next to Remus Lupin and he wasn't thinking about the time when Barty Crouch Jr. posed as him during his fourth year but when the retired auror came back during his fifth year to teach for real. With hesitation Harry had actually started to warm up to him as much as you could warm up to him at least and let the man tutor him privately. Actually he put him into a full boot camp, the schedule and material that he was given were meant for training real Aurors but they both decided it couldn't hurt. Dumbledore probably wouldn't have allowed it if he'd known but what Dumbledore didn't know couldn't hurt him.  
  
"Good to know lad, you could be a great auror one day you know." Alastor gruffly replied and patted him on the back and walked back to his chair letting his wooden leg tap and scrape against the stone floor.  
  
"Actually no offense but I don't fancy that kind of thing. Frankly the aurors aren't doing crap and I'd rather not follow some idiot Minister like Fudge thank you very much. Besides as soon as this whole war is over I plan to live quietly, get a low key job and live a next to normal life, nobody would even remember there was a Smoke in a few years and I'd be perfectly happy with it." He said once again stunning the recipients of the office.  
  
"You mean to say you plan to be anonymous through this whole war and then just claim a peaceful life without any recognition." Snape asked bewildered. He obviously didn't know what it was like to be famous, to be in the spotlight, to be watched like a hawk, to be expected to do certain things, and to have your life on display to the whole world.  
  
"Exactly. I want nothing in return. I don't want to be watched or chased my whole life. I don't want any money. I don't want the spotlight. I don't want to have my life out for the entire world to see. And I don't my friends and I to be hunted. You should understand that money and fame isn't everything. It can sometimes be more of a curse rather than a blessing."  
  
No one spoke for that minute. They mostly all had guilty expressions on their faces. Everyone wants to be famous and rich at one point of their lives expecting it all to be glamour and fun but they all just received a decent dose of reality from him.  
  
"You seem wise beyond your few years young Smoke." The headmaster smiled and his eyes twinkled momentarily.  
  
"Well you don't really know how old I am Headmaster. For all you know I can be older than you yourself." He said and everyone gave him a doubting look. "After all you are only as old as you feel isn't that right?"  
  
Receiving a nod in return he slowly got up from his position in a large cushioned burgundy chair and stretched his long limbs repressing a yawn. "I really must leave now."  
  
"May I inquire how we will be able to contact you?" the old man asked.  
  
"Pass my messages onto Remus he'll get them to me." He said and stood away from them a little ways. Looking towards the lyncanthrope he received an affirmation and he quickly added. "Oh and remember don't tell Sirius about this okay?"  
  
"Why? I think he deserves to know." He quipped a little protectively.  
  
"Because he'll piss his pants when he finds out." He laughed and within a black cloud of smoke he transported himself away leaving all the members in the room blinking at Remus who sat giggling helplessly and Mad-eye who seemed just as amused but hiding most of his laughter. Even Snape who didn't know what they were talking about smirked heartily at the mental image of Sirius Black soiling himself.  
  
Once things had settled down and the tawny haired lyncanthrope with gray streaks in his hair finished wiping the tears of laughter off his face Dumbledore asked the question they all were wondering.  
  
"So I'm assuming our mysterious Smoke is a friend of yours Mr. Lupin?"  
  
"An old friend from school." The man answered and let them all keep wondering to the man's identity. He knew that the Professors were most likely going to dig out old yearbooks from the years in Hogwarts for any leads.  
  
Seeing as Remus wasn't going to say another word on the subject Dumbledore then turned to Moody. "Anything more specific perhaps Alastor?"  
  
"Aye," the old auror said and for a second Remus was afraid he would spill Harry's secret but was generally calmed when the man spoke. "An old student of mine. Would have been a fine auror. One of the few people worthy of recognition yet unwilling to take it."  
  
Essentially neither men were lying and neither were exactly telling the truth. It was true Harry was a friend of Remus' from school because the werewolf had grown fond of his late friends son while teaching the boy in school. While Alastor really did take in Harry as a student the year before and did consider the boy brilliant and to know that the boy put his talents to real use was invigorating because the retired auror had made a big difference in history by teaching him so many things.  
  
Sighing deeply the Headmaster leaned his head against the back of his chair and closed his eyes. He had summoned them to find out who the man was and just in case he even had Severus gather Veritaserum and slip it into Smoke's drink. It seemed though he was right back where he started with no lead to go on and practically no clues.  
  
"Alright," he said. "I believe this meeting is adjourned. I will have the whole Order summoned tomorrow to report the damage done in Beaxbatons and any other information acquired. Remus make sure both Sirius and your friend Smoke get there." Pausing a minute to catch his breathe he continued. "I would also like to initiate some new members, I have some concerns about Mr. Potter and I believe that Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger can be useful in that field. Since they are of legal age I believe they could be admitted as for Harry I think I shall wait on him a bit."  
  
Not for a minute in his life had Remus ever been mad at the Headmaster but now he was practically seeing fire. How could the man assume that a boy, no not a boy anymore but a young man like Harry could ever be a traitor especially if Voldemort killed his parents and left him orphaned to the muggle family, then later on started ruining his life bit by bit. It was an absurd and unnecessary deduction.  
  
But he was not the first one to step into the situation, instead Severus was. "Don't be ridiculous Albus, the boy is as much a Death Eater as Neville Longbottom is a brilliant chemist." He huffed surprising them all.  
  
It seemed that Severus Snape did have a bit of a conscience if not a heart. Remus thought and nodded as well followed by one from Moody. Mcgonagal stayed strangely silent then cut in.  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure, he has been acting very strange and disappearing often ever since he started his fifth year. Not to mention his studies have improved tremendously. The boy rivals Ms. Granger's grades and I believe if he tried could rise high above them. If I'm not correct and I hate to admit such a thing but he reminds me strangely of Tom Riddle. Not only in their physical similarity but their power."  
  
It was true to the untrained eye he was behaving just as Tom Riddle had and he looked oddly like him while he was in his youth. But Remus shook his head of the thought. So what if he was smart? So were James and Lily. So what if he looked like Riddle it may have been the connection between them that morphed him that way. Maybe he received a bit more of Voldemort when he received his scar. Either way he was still Harry Potter. Still the noble Gryffindor with a bit more caution added to the mix.  
  
"No." he disagreed. "You don't see him Minerva, all you see is an image. You haven't known him well enough to see the person inside the image, the person inside the Boy-Who-Lived. None of you had, and truthfully I'm ashamed of you for thinking something like that. He may be disappearing more often but you don't know what he's doing really. He could be out flying somewhere. He could be studying; you yourself said his studies have improved. He could be out snogging his girlfriend or something. Or he could simply be getting away from you all watching him so closely. What if he just wants some privacy? It's unfair for you to just label him without having any proof to go by." He chastised them all heavily and the realization of how true Remus' statement could be registered in them.  
  
Some hesitation in believing him was shown but all in all Remus was proud to say that he diverted suspicion from the boy when he received apologetic and guilty glances from them.  
  
"You haven't convinced them you know." Mad-eye whispered to him on their way out of the office. Nodding lightly he replied. "I know, nobody but Harry himself could convince them but at least I helped."  
  
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Up in Gryffindor Tower a cloud of Black Smoke issued in the Head boy's private room and with a swirl it disappeared to leave a tall figure clad completely in black standing in the middle of the room.  
  
Quickly removing the shadow on his face he removed the cloth covering half his forehead and his hair letting shoulder length thick raven hair to cascade down and sway a little before settling smoothly. Harry had let his hair grow out over the past couple of years to keep it tamed and to his relief it had worked. Now even if it exposed his scar even more on his bare forehead he usually tied his dark tresses in a ponytail or kept it loose.  
  
He slowly started taking off his battle gear wincing every once in a while when he stretched a sore muscle then used magic to soothe it. Once all of his whole uniform was hidden away in a secret compartment in his dresser and Harry now stood in his boxers he headed off to the adjoined bathroom the Head boy and Head girl shared. He realized he still had grime and blood on his face and hands so stripping he hopped into the shower and turned the water on to an almost scalding hot temperature letting it relax his tense and exhausted body.  
  
The warm water soaked his hair and ran over his deeply tanned skin. He sighed resting his forehead against the cool tiles calming his mild headache. Grabbing a bar of soap that smelled of pine he started to lather his body with it. Running over each finely sculpted muscle then rinsing it off before taking the shampoo to wash his hair. The shampoo's smell really couldn't be described, it was not exactly a natural scent but it was pleasant still. After cleaning himself he leaned against the tiles again and looked heavenward tracing the cracks in the ceiling with his eyes.  
  
He was able to clean himself of the physical evidence of battle, which was relieving to the eyes, but in his mind he would always hear the screams, see the anguish and blood. It would never go away but at least nobody else would have to know about those things. Nobody else would know the hatred he felt for Volemort and his followers, nobody would know his fear of losing his loved ones, nobody would know of the dreams that haunt him every night. Dreams of his parents dieing, dreams of his miserable life with the Dursley's, dreams of the third task in the Triwizard tournament, and dreams of the things he'd seen and heard for the past two years.  
  
Sliding down to the floor of the shower cubical miserably he placed his head in his hands and let out an anguished sob, letting tears flow desolately down his face. It had been a long time since he cried but on occasion such as this he felt he deserved them. He deserved to mourn the many casualties lost in the battle and the many that would still be lost in the future. He mourned for Fluer and the others that died trapped inside the ruins of the French Academy of Magic.  
  
The mourning brought forth images of Voldemort, his blood red eyes, his deep cackle and the wretched green light that he saw over and over again in his nightmares. Angrily he wiped the tears away and said a few murmured words cleansing away all evidence that he'd cried leaving only traces in his haunted eyes. He realized that Voldemort shouldn't be allowed the satisfaction of making people cry, of making him cry. Harry would find away to kill the bastard even if it took his own life in the process.  
  
Turning the water off he grabbed a fluffy crimson towel off the towel rack and stepped out of the cubical. Wiping the foggy mirror above the sink up he took a look at himself to make sure that all evidence of his little cry had disappeared, which it had. Chucking his boxers into the laundry basket for the house elves to clean later he picked up the other towel he used to get the excess water out of his hair and did the same to it.  
  
Scratching his chin to relieve himself of an annoying itch he nearly groaned when he felt the slight stubble on his face. He had to shave again, it was an aggravating ritual that took place every morning but he still did it and once done with he got ready to head down to the common room.  
  
The chandeliers and the roaring fire lighted the common room nicely. Despite it being the second of September the castle was chilly much like the rest of the year. There were still plenty of people milling around, chatting, preparing for the school year and playing some kind of wizarding games.  
  
In the far corner of the room he quickly spotted his two best friends, actually they weren't much of friends at the moment they probably thought he was a Death Eater. They were hunched over some kind of book and spoke in hushed tones. Ron was gesturing wildly with his hands while Hermione shook her head fervently. They didn't even notice him approach; of course for the rest of the Gryffindors it was much different. He had changed over the summer again, grew taller, let his hair get longer, grow broader and more muscular.  
  
It took him nearly ten minutes to shake off some of the girl's as politely as possible that surrounded him. He came up silently behind the two wondering what they were talking about. When he got close enough to them not only did realize how dim the two were but that their mistrust towards him was much bigger than a bout of suspicion at the backs of their minds.  
  
"I'm telling you Hermione, it's not like Harry to be Dark. Can't you understand that he would never be a Death Eater, after all the time we've spent fighting You-Know-Who he wouldn't turn to him." The redhead spoke harshly trying to make his friend understand.  
  
"But it just doesn't make sense Ron!" she nearly yelled. "He's been drifting farther away from us ever since the Dark Lord was resurrected. He's been disappearing, his grades are skyrocketing and Jesus Christ, have you seen him duel before in Moody's class last year. And now we find this book on the Dark Arts." She complained and pointed to the green leather bound book with a runic title on it.  
  
"Herm, you're the one with an open mind, you're the one who stuck by Harry when he needed you the most. Right now you are talking about the guy that convinced me to help him save you from the troll in our first year. You don't know who gave it to him; Dumbledore himself could have given Harry the book. We don't know all we could do is assume and that's not good enough. I won't be led to believe my best friend is a traitor."  
  
Harry crouched behind the couch they were both sitting on feeling oddly touched with how much Ron was willing to believe in him. Even when there was a hill of evidence pointing against him, his best friend would never falter.  
  
"Well I don't know Ron. Didn't Pettigrew betray the Potters and frame Sirius? It just doesn't add up, I can't figure out where he goes all the time, what he does and where he gets the powerful spells he uses in Dueling classes. Not to mention his appearance. He used to be a short skinny boy with messy black hair and glasses, have you seen him recently? What could have made him change so much and why does he have to leave us out of the loop?"  
  
All the while Hermione's ranting was heart wrenching to Harry. He sat and cradled his head in his crossed arms that sat upon his knees, which he brought up close to his chest. //What have I done? One of my best friends is turning against me.\\ He thought rocking back and forth slightly. But they couldn't see the reason why he didn't tell them things, why he didn't confide in them, nobody knew. Because the more he shared with someone and let him or her in on his secrets, the more perpetual danger he put them in.  
  
Shaking his head and deciding he couldn't take this sort of abuse from Hermione whether she knew he was listening or not, he stood towering over their seated positions and spoke.  
  
"Some things Hermione," both of his former/best friends jumped about a foot in the air when they heard his voice and turned to face him with stricken and frightened expressions meeting his hard gaze. "Some things are not meant to be understood. If you would kindly hand me my book back."  
  
Shakily the brown haired girl gulped and handed the heavy tome into his preferred hand.  
  
"Thank you." He said blankly and added. "Next time I would appreciate it if you would ask me before looking through my things." And he stalked off back towards his room to put the book away and this time seal it with extra locking spells in the hidden compartment in his dresser.  
  
As he walked up the stairs aware of the many sets of eyes watching his movements he mentally slapped himself for acting so coldly toward them. Ron didn't even deserve it and even for all the snooping she was doing neither did Hermione. She was after all curious and concerned about what's been happening to him. He didn't even care to clear up her accusations, he didn't care if they went and told Dumbledore. He'd still find a way out of the trouble it would cause.  
  
Back in the common room both Hermione and Ron sat stunned in silence taking no account of the other Gryffindors ambling about the place.  
  
Turning toward the redhead she addressed him quietly. "How much do you think he heard?"  
  
"Judging by how angry he looked I think he just about heard everything. And you know what Hermione?" he answered her back.  
  
"What Ron?" she asked dejectedly.  
  
"I feel like crap right now for making him feel that way and I hope you feel just as rotten. That was horrible."  
  
Stubbornly getting up she stood in front of him placing her hands on her hips and doing her best Mcgonagal expression. "You can't be serious Ronald Arthur Weasley! If he wasn't truly a Death Eater then he would have defended himself and explained what these past couple of years were all about."  
  
The redheaded boy shook his head sadly in denial. "Hermione you can't always get straight answers and frankly I think you're just scared you don't know what's going on. And let me tell you another thing, if he was a Death Eater trying to stay undercover then he would have defended himself to get us to believe him instead of getting mad like he just did. And if he wasn't undercover but still a Death Eater he'd have called you a mudblood by now and probably hexed us into next year. Books can't tell you everything, sometimes you depend on life to experience these things." Ron finished surprised with himself for showing that much depth and knowledge. But the short brunet would not back down instead she started walking straight towards the portrait hole.  
  
"I don't care what you think Ron, something fishy is going on and I plan to tell Dumbledore about it." She said briskly turning up her nose at him. "You can come if you want." She added fully expecting him to take up the invitation.  
  
"Why do you have to go to Dumbledore for everything Herm? In a year we won't have him to run to, we'll be living our own lives so why not just start while we're ahead?" he offered and she seemed unfazed. Groaning deeply and growling at the back of his throat in frustration he got up and followed her through the halls to make sure she didn't make it sound like Harry just murdered someone and deserved to go to Azkaban.  
  
On the way there he continued to try and convince her that their best friend was still on the light side, which turned out to be a harder task than he expected.  
  
"Come on Herm, what happened to the girl with all the common sense? The girl that would never think one bad thought about our Harry? Sometimes I wonder by the way you're acting if you are the Death Eater under cover instead of Harry." He said getting her thoroughly mad earning him a sharp slap across the face. For a moment he stood perplexed and stunned by the stinging on his cheek until he brought his hand up to feel the red handprint it had left and faced the brunets fuming face.  
  
"How dare you even think that Ron! I haven't been going around behind your and Harry's backs. I'm not the one with Dark Arts books lying around in my room. I'm not the one who's turned into some kind of buff." She rattled on not even aware Ron was tuning her out and thinking things through one more time.  
  
"See how you felt when I told you I thought you were a Death Eater? Now imagine how Harry would have felt, while you have me he has no one. He has no family to support him like we do. No one really sees that, they just see a guy that puts on a brave front so that the people around him will feel safe. Can't you see that you're hurting him?"  
  
"I'm not the one that's doing suspicious things and gallivanting around god knows where. He's absolutely detached himself from us!" she screamed in a rage heaving each and every breath. After several seconds she seemed to calm down and loosen up, walking right up to the redhead and hugging him. "I just want our Harry back, Ron. I'm worried about him. Why won't he open up to us?" she added in a smaller voice and buried her head against his chest letting him rub her back rhythmically. Soon she fell into a calm lull and they started to head back to the Tower.  
  
"Hermione," Ron called softly rousing her from her almost hypnotic state causing her to jump slightly and look towards him imploringly asking what he wanted. "Promise me something." He said near the staircase that separated the boy's and girl's dorms.  
  
"What is it Ron?" she asked stroking the red mark on his cheek and giving it a soft kiss.  
  
"Promise you won't mention anything to Dumbledore without having sufficient evidence on Harry."  
  
"Fine." She said sourly leaving the warmth of his arms and heading back to the Head girl's rooms at a fast pace without even saying goodnight to him.  
  
Sighing Ron headed up to the seventh year boys dorms determined to get some sleep and get his mind off his best friend and girlfriend. It wasn't a secret that Ron felt lonely without Harry but in some ways he was glad to return his life to a norm. Whatever his best friend was doing must be important to be kept such a closely guarded secret and in some part of his mind he knew that he was only keeping it from them for their own good. Hermione on the other hand didn't understand what a secret was. But if you have a father that works at the ministry and often keeps important things from his own family, he usually knew the purpose of those secrets was to keep them all safe, so he relented.  
  
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In his room Harry sat brooding. All of this was his doing anyways. This was the price of saving mankind. You are not appreciated. But right now he didn't want to be appreciated. He didn't want anyone to know. The fact that they all thought him a traitor would only add to his benefit, then nobody would dare suspect him to be Ninja Mage Smoke.  
  
//Ninja Mage.\\ he snorted to himself and changed into his pajamas, which weren't really much considering he only slept in boxers and when it got colder in pajama pants. Around his neck he adjusted his lightening bolt pendant comfortably so it wouldn't press against his skin roughly.  
  
Lying awake for around half an hour Harry contemplated what he would be doing the next day. He wanted to go visit Gabrielle as Harry instead of Smoke. After all not only would she soon figure out the truth from that dead give away about the lake and the symbol on the ring but he'd have to tell her eventually to ask her if she wanted him to take her in during the summers.  
  
It wasn't that he wanted to put her in danger by having her know the truth it was just the girl needed someone there for her after her sister died, it would give her new hope.  
  
A while after he let his thoughts drift to the back of his mind Harry let his eyelids close and the darkness of sleep envelope him to get him enough rest to get through the next day.  
  
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AUTHOR'S NOTE  
  
Once again hello my devoted readers. How do you all like this chapter? Let me know what you think.  
  
As for my other story I had some difficulty with chapter 9 but it will be up by end of the week. And just for my delay I promise to make it extra special and long with fluffy whipped cream and a yummy cherry on top!  
  
Keep checking for updated chapters for the time being. 


	3. The Quarter Families

The Hero Hidden Beneath A Traitor's Clothing  
  
Summary: Voldemort is at the height of his power once more, terrorizing both the Muggle and Wizarding World's he is considered unstoppable and ruthless. There is only one person left who can truly defeat him, a boy that the world has set on a pedestal. In his seventh year the boy is now a man and single handedly taking on the dark forces but are the people truly grateful to this mysterious warrior, or will he have to depend on another girl several years younger than him and a complete stranger to believe in him.  
  
Rated: R (for adult content and some violence)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the talented Ms. Rowling does, and the WB has some rights to the series. I just write for the hell of it all, so don't sue. I don't have anything worth taking me to court over.  
  
-Chapter Three- The Quarter Families  
  
The next morning the sun rose early and shone brightly. Sometimes Harry felt like he could hear it coming up, singing a specific tune forgotten to all but nature. It was a peaceful, and mournful song that you could hear if you listened close enough. You could here the birds hailing its rising and the wolves mourning the moon's loss.  
  
He heard it every single morning, since there simply weren't enough hours in the day his schedule consisted of getting up around five o'clock in the morning to go jogging, swimming laps in the lake, and then going to the fifth floor gym where the exercise mats were and the gymnastics equipment. The room adjoining it was the weight room where he also spent a good deal of his time.  
  
Now thinking about it Harry felt it rather sad to leave those rooms unused. Since the wizarding community was so dependant on magic they have almost long forgotten what the body could do without it. And thus they would never expect a Ninja Mage to beat up a dozen Death Eaters on his lone self while an auror would be lucky to take two.  
  
Ninja Mages weren't even all that common, the last reported sighting of one was from six hundred and fifty years ago during one of the Goblin Wars that involved a good chunk of the magical population to participate. And to become one on one's own would be quite an accomplish.  
  
//Too bad I'm the only one, I could sure use some help sometimes.\\ he thought and sat up putting on a pair of gym shorts, a sleeveless shirt and trainers and quietly exiting his room.  
  
Walking down the staircase Harry heard the squeak of a door opening and a faint breathing but he just stored it away in the back of his head and kept walking.  
  
Hermione had been awake all night trying to figure out when Harry left common room in the mornings if not at night. Finally around five o'clock in the morning she heard faint sounds from the rooms next to her, which Harry occupied. To say the least she was a bit frightened to have him so close to her. There were many theories that went through her head about him. One was that he might be a Death Eater, or a spy in which case he was dangerous.  
  
Quietly she got up from the chair she had been sitting in almost the whole night and stretched her cramped back and neck muscles. Grabbing the invisibility cloak she grabbed from his room when he was gone she opened the door peering through with one eye and noticing him walking out the common room. The door had squeaked on its hinges slightly and for a moment she was afraid he heard but seeing as Harry just calmly kept going she threw the cloak around her and followed him. Rounding several corners and climbing several flights of stairs before finally exiting the castle and jogging outside behind him trying to keep up.  
  
It was rather odd he was in gym clothes, why would he go to a Death Eater meeting in gym clothes. The next thing she noticed was his bare arms. They seemed well built and muscled but despite two tattoos that he had from god knows where, there was no Dark Mark on him. The tattoos were on both his biceps. He must have gotten them at a muggle tattoo shop over the holidays, she figured since neither of them moved like wizarding ones. On his right arm he had a picture of a black and gray wolf, with eerie bright green eyes, a large one at that. It stood growling proud and tall and at its feet was a black/gray cloud of smoke swirling around with faces depicted in them, faces of screaming people. In fact they weren't even people they were just very good depicted heads with eyes, noses and mouths that looked like they were yelling in pain.  
  
She shuddered slightly focusing off that particular tattoo and vaguely wondered if Harry made people scream like those faces in the smoke. Looking at the other one it seemed to be a Celtic band of some sort completing a circle on his bicep outlining his muscles perfectly. But what it seemed could have been different from what it really was, she heard from Ron that some of the aurors were discovering that a large number of Death Eaters have Dark Marks in other places than their forearm to hide them. Some even appear as different shapes but when certain spells are tested on them they react like the Mark.  
  
Outside she followed him out to the Quittich pitch and sat in the stands watching perplexedly at him. She sat there stunned not really expecting what she was seeing at all. From her point of view, if she was correct, he was doing warm-ups. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and pull ups from the posts that made the bleachers up with. She watched for nearly half an hour as he jogged around the pitch, breaking a thin sweat. When he finished and sat down she thought that he'd be going in, but no he had enough energy for more.  
  
As he jogged up to the lake she blushed as he stripped and jumped in starting to do laps in the cool water, oblivious to the many creatures inside its depths. After finishing his excruciating one hundred and fifty laps she saw Harry get out and this time rather than feel guilty about watching him dress or undress she simply turned away for a second to let him gather his clothes and put them on devoid his shirt which was used as a makeshift towel.  
  
But that little moment when she turned away was all it took for him to disappear. Realizing he wasn't there anymore and she had no leads as to where he was going she swore silently while heading back to Gryffindor Tower to put his invisibility cloak where it was supposed to be before he noticed it missing.  
  
Running through the halls Harry laughed to himself. Hermione was no good at spying he decided and hoped that she would choose a nice desk job when they left Hogwarts rather than an occupation as an Auror or Unspeakable like many were doing these days. Sure the invisibility cloak covered her well but any normal person would hear her a mile away thanks to not only her heavy breathing but also her boots made to much noise on the stone floor. And if you considered his situation he placed monitoring charms around himself so it gave him a sixth sense as to when someone was near or watching him excessively.  
  
Up on the fifth floor Harry completed his morning exercises in the gym and weight room. Outdoing himself to the point where he was sore he got up releasing his hair from its pony tail and brushing his hands through it to get rid of any extra tangles that would be hard to get out in the shower he was about to take. He rubbed at his eyes to keep himself awake and thanked the lucky gods that he had decided to let Mad-eye Moody fix his eyes in his fifth year due to the fact that Harry kept losing duels to him because either his glasses kept breaking or kept getting knocked off his face. They were essentially a safety hazard. In truth he missed them though, they reminded him of his father. The glasses came with his image which was now gone.  
  
Before going down to breakfast after cleaning up Harry had checked to make sure Hermione had put his invisibility cloak back into his trunk, which he then stored, in his secret compartment. It wouldn't due for her to keep sneaking in and stealing his things like that anymore.  
  
By the time he was dressed and ready to face the world the common room was already buzzing with Gryffindors in a state of awareness or half in slumber. It was only eight thirty on a Sunday morning and half of the school would most likely be at breakfast.  
  
On his way to the Great Hall Harry spotted a whole cluster of giggling girls whispering excitedly about something and some of them even jumping up and down squealing at something they were all looking at in the middle. Figuring he'd find out what all the commotion was and maybe even break the group up before they all went crazy from the way they were behaving he strode up and gulped paling at what he heard.  
  
"Oh James Black is so dreamy! I was in muggle London this summer and while in a hair salon I bought this magazine to go over. It's called Calvin Klien Jeans, just in case you didn't know it holds muggle fashions and models. Anyways I usually skip to the top twenty-five hottest guys under twenty- five and he was on number one for half a year already! They've even dedicated twelve whole pages of his photo's and snap shots!" One of the girls squealed out to the others who all went mad with commotion.  
  
Right about now Harry's stomach felt like it was melting and rising up his throat as he continued listening as one of the other girls practically caused him to have a heart attack.  
  
"Hmm, he is dreamy but I think I've seen him somewhere. He certainly looks familiar that's for sure. Too bad he's only a muggle, imagine if he was some famous wizard and went to Hogwarts with us. I think I would die if that happened." A tall and skinny brown haired girl said and giggled along with the others.  
  
//Nobody from the wizarding world was supposed to know! It was only a job that would put money in my pocket!\\ he mentally yelled and started sprinting down the hall. Now it would be out all over the school and eventually someone would recognize him.  
  
It was on Christmas of last year that he had gone home to the Dursley's or at least said he was but ended up spending his holidays in muggle London where he was shopping in one of the main district malls when a man introduced himself as an agent for the London Modeling and Fashion Industry. He had received several compliments about his well-built and tall body. His exotic looks, the dark hair and tanned skin with bright green eyes made him look unique and pleasant to the eye. And he certainly couldn't blame himself for being pleased with himself and pleased that someone would appreciate him and a chance to have millions of others do so as well.  
  
//After all we're all a little greedy. And being a male model in the muggle world wasn't nearly as exposing as it was being the boy-who-lived in the wizarding one.\\ So after accepting the man's offer and starting to work during the holidays and weekends he made up a fake name, James Black. A fake age, 18, and a whole new identity to use outside of the wizarding world, that way not many people would recognize him after he changed so dramatically from what he used to be. And the Dursley's wouldn't try to claim the money he made off of it because he hadn't gone back to them since right after fourth year. Instead each year he would use the money he made to travel, stay in hotels and add money to the Weasleys vault and Remus'.  
  
He was fully aware that not many people would hire a werewolf and since Sirius couldn't access the money in his own vault the two of them had to live off of Remus whom barely had much. //And they think I'm a child! Please give me a break!\\ he thought. If he could take care of himself then he wasn't a child and he could definitely take care of Gabby as well.  
  
Slowing down and looking back to where the group of girls stood his heart stopped for a fraction of a second when he saw Snape with the magazine in hand openly gaping at it and repeating something over and over again which looked like by the way he was moving his lips was, "Black has a son, thank the lucky gods the boy is probably a squib."  
  
Relaxing a bit he smiled feebly. At least he wouldn't get yelled at in front of the Great Hall today, maybe tomorrow when he has his first class with the over grown bat. That minute it took him to relax and smile Harry realized that the greasy git of a Potions Master must have some kind of radar that went off when a student was happy, signaling for him to fully ruin their day because in that instant he was ready to turn away Snape's blank stare that was focused on him slowly turned into a bewildered expression, then to a mild scowl until it progressed into the venomous glare the students of Hogwarts all knew and loved. The glare that would make any muggle-born Hufflepuff first year soil their pants and go into a coma.  
  
Harry was stuck like a deer in the headlights while Snape looked from the magazine back to him and blinking rapidly to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He was hoping right now that if Snape did recognize him which he probably already did but his brain just didn't want to process it that the picture he was looking at wasn't the one where he was half naked.  
  
That picture not only made him blush like mad while the photographers were trying to take it but it made him fidget to the point where he had to calm down before they could take any decent photographs. It was taken this July in Dover, Kent right on the beach on one of those sunny, rain free days. He remembered standing on the beach, dripping wet from just coming out of the water in Calvin Klien swimming trunks that sat low on his hips and went down to right above his knee. His expression was seductive and one of his hands was in his wet hair pushing it back.  
  
Some part of him wished that his parents weren't looking down at him from heaven or wherever they were that day. He would have been extremely embarrassed if his mother had seen it. His father would have probably had a good laugh over it, but then again he only guessed so from all the things Sirius told him about his parents. And the way this was going he bet that this would get all the way back to his godfather eventually.  
  
//5.4.3.\\ He started counting off the time it would take Snape to fully explode and haul him to the Headmaster's office. //2.1.\\  
  
"POTTER!!!"  
  
//Right on the dot.\\ he sighed and shook his head walking back to the group of girls whom clearly didn't want to leave without the magazine. Most if not all of them had recognized him now and were whispering and giggling in their own annoying way.  
  
Waiting not so patiently with what seemed to be a permanent glare glued to his face the Potions Master held the picture he was looking at earlier out to Harry and tapped his foot.  
  
Unfortunately luck was not with him that cheerful Sunday morning and Harry noticed the photograph was the one that he had been dreading the Potions Master would see.  
  
"What is this Potter? Fame in the wizarding world just isn't enough you had to go pose nude in a muggle magazine?" the older man sneered.  
  
"That is my summer job." Harry said without hesitation trying to play it cool and calm. "And I'm pretty sure I'm not naked in that snap shot, in fact I have a pair of swimming trunks on that I was advertising for Calvin Klien." Apparently Snape didn't want to be answered and abruptly yelled in his ear nearly making him go deaf.  
  
"Are you talking back to me Potter? I have a feeling the Headmaster would be very interested in this." He said and made a move to grab the teenager by the collar of his shirt. Being Sunday Harry didn't even bother to wear robes like he usually did but instead wore a pair of loose fitting jeans that rode low on his hips and a black undershirt.  
  
Ducking out of the way but continuing on to the Great Hall he shrugged. "I'm sure he would be interested, in fact just last June he told me that he could never find proper swimming trunks. You never know he may like them." With those last words he stepped through the great wooden doors and over to the Gryffindor table where Ron and Hermione were already sitting. Surveying the rest of the table he noticed there weren't many other seats open so hesitantly he approached them and sat himself next to Ron and now sat across from both Hermione and Ginny.  
  
"Hi Ron. How are you? Find out my secret plan to take over the world yet or has Ginny told you about my little job that takes up most of my time?" Ginny he had noticed was one of the girl's in the crowd that were clustered around the magazine he was in. Hearing her name she looked up and immediately blushed while Hermione vehemently tried to get the information about Harry's job out of her. Finally relenting she told them about the magazine and his modeling career that took place on weekends and holidays.  
  
To say the least the brunet had looked more than guilty when she found out where Harry went in his spare time and why he exercised so early in the morning.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us then?" She demanded and all of a sudden looked angry.  
  
"What's to tell?" he asked her and simply started piling food onto his plate.  
  
"Plenty!" she screamed drawing half of the Great Hall to attention, but she was oblivious to it. "We're your best friends Harry, we deserve to know!"  
  
Feeling a seething anger rise up inside of him he released the first words that came to mind feeling she deserved them. "As far as I'm concerned you don't deserve to know anything Hermione! Why do you need to know everything? Some things are better left unsaid. And with you snooping around in my things and following me in the mornings I would have thought you figured things out already."  
  
Looking down and away from his face she focused on the tattoo of the wolf on his right arm where the eyes shone like Harry's own, large and vibrant. Squinting a little to look closer there was a faint discoloration on the wolf's forehead.  
  
"Hermione!" Ron yelled trying to get her attention and waved his hand in front of her face.  
  
"What?!" she snapped at him regretting it afterwards when his face became crestfallen and she apologized. "Sorry Ron, I'm not in such a great mood today." She explained.  
  
"Yeah well Snape isn't either." The redhead pointed over to the head table where the Head of Slytherin was standing in front of the Headmaster and waving a magazine in front of the old man's face arguing strongly on a particular subject and pointing across the hall right at Harry whom had sighed chewing the last of his breakfast and swallowing before he made his way over to where the Potions Master was standing.  
  
"What crawled up his arse and died today?" Ginny asked referring to Snape and took a nibble of her toast after getting shrugs from the others.  
  
"Is the Headmaster's beard on fire or are you just waving that magazine around to ward the flies off of him Professor?" Harry smirked getting under his most hated Professor's skin was so easy sometimes.  
  
"Detention tonight after classes for disrespecting your teacher and 20 points from Gryffindor." Harry could plainly see the man was not in a good mood and didn't even hesitate to take points from his house and issue a detention.  
  
"Consider it a date then, should I bring flowers or chocolate which do you prefer? Or maybe I should surprise you?" He teased but received even worse a punishment when Snape gave him two detentions and deducted another twenty points now making Harry full out scowl.  
  
//Right I'll just bring a lump of coal then, perhaps even pliers so you have an easier time getting whatever stick that's up your arse.\\ he thought and rolled his eyes. Two seats from the Headmaster, Remus picked up the magazine Snape lay down on the table and started reading the articles below each of his photo's and looking at all of his pictures before chuckling amusedly.  
  
"You know Harry, Snuffles signed up with the same company around your age. Ironic how you look so much alike now." He snickered and added. "Nice trunks by the way." When he reached the photo taken on the beach and laughed when the teenager blushed slightly.  
  
"Thanks Professor I was going to show them to Professor Dumbledore since he's been telling me how it's hard to find a good pair of trunks these days." With a pleased smile on his face Albus leaned over Minerva to look at the picture and raised and speculated it for a moment.  
  
"You're right." And Snape believing that the Headmaster was talking to him gave a pleased smirk, which abruptly fell when the next part of the old man' s sentence came out. "They are nice trunks but black is more your color Mr. Potter, perhaps something a bit more brighter for myself like maybe a nice orange or even red and gold pair."  
  
Grinning from ear to ear he nodded and scooped the magazine up from next to Professor Mcgonangal's plate whom was staring unabashedly at it.  
  
"I'll see what I can do about those gold and red trunks Professor in the mean time I have some things to take care of." Before he was able to walk off Remus called him back and gave him a sheet of parchment.  
  
"Here," Remus said and let Harry take the paper from his hand before explaining. "It's from Snuffles, I brought him to the Hospital Wing so Madame Pomfrey can keep an eye on him, feel free to visit. Oh and make sure to read that as soon as you're alone, it's highly important." He smiled winking at his student.  
  
Nodding appreciatively Harry headed up to the Ravenclaw table to return the magazine back to its proper owner. Craning his neck and spotting Mandy Brockhurst amongst a group of other girls all laughing and gossiping about one thing or another he had an idea and took out a blue pen from his pocket that he kept around for emergencies. Quickly he signed the picture of himself at the beach wearing the black Calvin Klien swimming trunks. Now underneath his picture was written,  
  
Dear Mandy- Hope you liked this month's issue. -James Black (AKA Harry Potter)  
  
  
  
Striding up to her he came up from behind and dropped the magazine face up on her lap carefully with the autographed picture out in the open for her to see. "Enjoy!" he said before walking off and hearing an excited murmur from the Ravenclaw table.  
  
He didn't even bother to let Hermione apologize as he walked past the table not even giving her a second glance. She would have to endure for the guilt for a little while before he decided to forgive. Instead he was headed to the infirmary where his godfather and Gabrielle were being treated at the moment.  
  
  
  
By nine o'clock in the morning Gabrielle's eyelids slowly fluttered open and revealing unfocused blue/gray eyes. Rubbing at her weary eyes with her hands she sat up yawning lightly and sniffled. Her nose felt clogged like she had a cold and her sinuses ached slightly.  
  
//It's probably because I cried so much yesterday.\\ she reasoned and looked down at her right hand where the heavy platinum ring with the onyx lightening bolt still adorned her middle finger. It gleamed as a bright ray of sunlight hit it and for a moment she thought she heard her hero's voice somewhere near by. But she cast that thought back fully knowing he couldn't come to visit her everyday.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a vase with two long-stem roses in it, one red rose and one white. The most beautiful roses she'd ever seen, they were so perfect. The petals were all symmetric and young, they looked like silk and she couldn't resist the urge to lean over and smell their fragrances.  
  
Sweet, they smelled so sweet. Just like she imagined Smoke would if he weren't covered in blood and dirt. Speaking of Smoke it looked like he left her a note by the vase. Folded in half and placed carefully with her name scrawled on it in a messy scrawl it pulled to her until she finally picked it up to read it.  
  
Dear Gabby, The red rose is for the loss of your sister. May she go on to the next greatest adventure in the after life and always be remembered in this life. She was a great person and I feel honored by just having known her as well as I am to know you. The white rose is for your survival. May you live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment of it. Your sister would have wanted you to live and be happy. I know for a fact that she loved you more than anything else in her life. Remember she'll always be watching over you. I'll visit soon and I'll be there for you when you need me the most. If you do need ever need me then you may use the ring to communicate with me in emergencies. Just rub the onyx three times and call for Smoke.  
  
Your faithful friend, Smoke  
  
  
  
Gripping the letter close to her chest she let out a strangled sob and shut her eyes holding back a torrent of tears that threatened to escape her.  
  
//He cares for me, and he knew Fluer. Yet I still don't know who he is.\\ While thinking about his hidden identity she let the clue that he gave her the other day play over and over in her head.  
  
'We once took a swim at the bottom of the lake.' He had told her, but what did he mean by that. She rarely went swimming and certainly not with anyone other than her family. It only took a moment to hit her in the head before she rolled over and buried her head in her pillow to quiet her reawakening cries. The last of her family had actually died and she had nowhere to go now. Would they send her to an orphanage or throw her out on the street? She thought making her weep even more loudly.  
  
Gabrielle eventually cried herself to sleep, the letter from Smoke still clutched in her hand and pressed against the spot over her heart.  
  
Later on when a weary Poppy Pomfrey entered to check on her young patient her heart ached and went out to the girl, who's face was still a pale covered with tear tracks that ran down her cheeks starting from her pale eyelashes.  
  
"Poor child." She murmured turning the girl over on her back and readjusting the blankets on top pf her in a more comfortable position. When rearranging the girl she noticed the blondes arm fell limply over the edge of the bed. Bringing the girls arm back up to her side she noticed something familiar. A ring, a platinum ring with an onyx symbol. Something that she had seen many times before.  
  
"Well Mr. Potter it seems you are indeed a true hero. I do hope you know what you're doing." She whispered to the air smiling faintly and swearing an oath to take this secret to her grave if she had to.  
  
Before walking back out and leaving the grieving blonde to sleep she placed a single piece of parchment that had fallen to the floor back into the girls curled up fist.  
  
  
  
Harry was met with the familiar sanitized smell once he entered the hospital wing and the whitewashed walls that have been permanently imbedded into his memory. Making his way to the very back of the ward to where the emergency and protected enclosures stood he couldn't see Madame Pomfrey anywhere. He figured that Sirius would be at the very last room as to avoid being seen.  
  
For a few moments Harry considered going in to see Gabrielle but instead decided to go see her after he beat the living day lights out of his godfather for going into a battle where both sides of the field would gang up on him.  
  
Tapping on the door lightly he waited until he received a hoarse "Come in." from the other side.  
  
"You know you should really wait until you know who it is you're letting in Sirius, you've almost gotten yourself killed and caught enough times for me to bear." Harry teased him and stepped into the room to sit by his godfather's bed.  
  
For a few minutes the older man propped up by pillows just stared at him. "Merlin," was all he said first then began to speak in wonder. "I feel like I'm staring at my past self except with a few changes."  
  
"Oh that's all you can say, huh? There's no 'how are you Harry?' Or 'It's good to see you.' In there some where?" He joked and playfully punched his godfather's arm. "Besides I'm confused already with all of this so don't confuse me any farther by saying I look like you for some unknown reason."  
  
"Harry?" the older man asked almost hesitantly. "Great Gryffindor," he gasped. "Why do you look like that?" Sirius stared at him almost unbelievingly letting his eyes travel over the boy searching for some fault to tell him that this was not his godson. But once he looked into those emerald pools the boy inherited from his mother he knew this could only be one person. This could only be his best friend's son, and his godson.  
  
Shrugging Harry answered as truthfully as possible. "If I knew I would have told you." Deep inside him the questions to his strange appearance were whirling and struggling to find some kind of answer. Unlike most things though the library wouldn't help him on this subject.  
  
"I've been wondering why for god knows how long. I was planning to ask you but I wanted to do it in person and in order to do that I had to wait until you were done with whatever Dumbledore sent you to do." //I had to wait until Dumbledore was done sending you out on suicide missions.// he thought to himself angrily.  
  
Bowing his head sadly the older man sighed shaking his head indicating that he couldn't tell the young man before him anything about his missions. "I've been busy Harry, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I wish so badly that I could be here for you."  
  
"Don't beat yourself up over it." Harry said trying to bring some comfort to the older man. "I know that you're out scouting for the Headmaster, we all have to do things for the war and I perfectly understand."  
  
Nodding and smiling feebly Sirius held out his hand top his godson beckoning him closer. When his godson got up from his place on the chair near him and took the offered hand he tugged until the younger man knelt down before drawing him into a tight hug.  
  
"Its good to see you kiddo, how long has it been like five months? I'm sorry I couldn't visit in that long."  
  
Burying his face in the man's shoulder Harry murmured softly to him. "There's no need to apologize I thought we've already gone over that, but I'm glad you're here now." Sighing he sat down on the edge of the bed still clinging to the only person whom would never turn his back on him. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours until Harry's back started to ache from that position and he gently moved from the embrace and sat back into the chair he was previously in.  
  
"You know." Harry told him. "I should kill you for going into the Beaxbatons battle like that because I may never have gotten to see you at all if you were killed there!" he nearly yelled making Sirius wince and look towards him apologetically.  
  
"But I wasn't killed." He tried to defend himself.  
  
"Nearly! And if your hide wasn't saved by that Smoke character then you'd be buried a convict. Don't you ever scare me like that again do you understand?!"  
  
"Yes." Sirius murmured bowing his head for a few minutes until he remembered he was the adult there and stared indignantly at his godson.  
  
"What about you!?" he croaked back his voice still raspy and despite the fact that he was being yelled at Harry filled a glass with water from a pitcher by the bedside table and handed it to the man who gladly accepted it.  
  
"What about me?" he asked almost afraid that either Remus or Moody had spilled his secret to Sirius just because they believed he deserved to know.  
  
"Well Dumbledore tells me you've been missing a lot and acting suspiciously ever since the beginning of fifth year. Now don't get me wrong I know you aren't a Death Eater but it still makes me wonder what you do with all that extra time."  
  
"It's simple I just don't like being watched like a hawk so I go out and do things, I have a job during the summer and the holidays, sometimes on the weekends, I go out with girls, I study, I play Quittich, practice Quittich, make new plays for the team, take care of my Perfects duties and a few other things." He said listing each one off a finger and leaving off the 'other things' he does.  
  
"You know that it's dangerous to just go out by yourself. I understand you want your freedom but we're all concerned for your safety. " Sirius chastised him and set down his half empty glass of water.  
  
"I can take care of myself so don't worry," he said and changed the subject hastily. "Besides don't you want to know what job I got?"  
  
"Fine." The older man sighed and was prepared to listen if it weren't for his door opening and admitting Remus who strode in with a wide grin on his face and something rolled kind of newspaper or something along those lines rolled up in one of his hands.  
  
"Oh Sirius you'll never believe what Prongs Jr. has been doing over the summers!" Harry's ears perked up and he stared wide-eyed at the lyncanthrope.  
  
//He wouldn't!\\ he screamed inside his head. He was getting really paranoid that someone would mention him being Smoke to Sirius now.  
  
Unrolling what he had in his hand and flipping through a few pages Remus chuckled. "I borrowed this off of a Ravenclaw girl after Snape had confiscated it and tried to get Harry expelled for its contents."  
  
Hearing his teacher say that he relaxed partially but his face flamed in embarrassment from what his godfather was about to see.  
  
"Here." Once he found the correct page Remus handed the magazine to his best friend and watched as the young man sitting next to him turned as red as a Weasley and suddenly became interested in his shoes.  
  
Waiting a few moments they both heard the rustle of pages being turned and the murmurs of Sirius repeating "James Black" over and over again and looking from picture to picture of Harry in awe before looking over the magazine toward the boy and grinning when coming upon a particularly interesting one.  
  
"Nice trunks Harry, you should show these to Dumbledore he's been ranting about proper swimming trunks for god knows how long." Sirius said and broke out into full out laughter then clutching and sputtering from the pain in his bruised ribs.  
  
"Yeah he already saw and I promised him a pair of red and gold ones like that." He smiled and shook his head thinking about the mystery that the Headmaster would always be. He didn't even realize that his voice was sorrowful and empty, his mind on other things like the war and the Headmasters involvement in it.  
  
"Harry?" his godfather whispered feeling that there was something the boy was hiding. "Is there something else you're not telling me?" he pleaded with his brown eyes.  
  
He didn't want to lie to the man but it was necessary for his and Sirius' safety. If someone got a hold that his godfather even knew who the mysterious Smoke was then things could be disastrous whatever motive the person suspecting him had. But Remus' eyes urged him on pushing for him to tell the truth. The other man was clearly saying, 'Either you tell him or I will, he deserves to know' with his eyes.  
  
Sighing her slumped in his chair defeated and exhausted. //Fine\\ he thought //I'll tell him but it won't be pretty once I do.\\  
  
"Fine you win but I think once you hear this you won't like it very much and I don't want you to do anything rash, okay, just lye still and calm. Got it?"  
  
"Harry," the older man said hesitantly already dreading what he might hear. "You're scaring me and by the looks of it I'm gathering Moony already knows whatever secret your covering up." He glanced furrowing his eyebrows worriedly towards both other men in the room.  
  
"My job isn't the only reason I've been missing lately." He said quietly and watched as Sirius tensed up in the bed and almost shot right out demanding an explanation.  
  
"Oh and exactly what is the other reason?" he started breathing rather heavily and Harry had to put a calming hand on his shoulder pushing him back down so he rested his head comfortably on the pillow.  
  
"Calm down before you give yourself a hernia, I haven't become a Death Eater or dabbled in the Dark Arts." //So okay that's a lie I have dabbled in the dark arts but for light purposes so it wouldn't be considered dark then.\\  
  
Nodding his godfather relaxed considerably but still remained nervous and on the edge of his nerves.  
  
"Sirius," he began but lost the nerve to admit the truth to his godfather causing him to pause and start over again. After all it wasn't everyday you told your godfather that you are a ninja mage battling against Voldemort. "Sirius I."  
  
  
  
Gabrielle lay in bed for a little while after she woke up in a different position and read her note several more times before deciding it was time for her to do something. The Death Eaters were responsible for the death of her sister and she wanted revenge. But before she could have that she needed to gather the energy to at least stand on her feet steadily. Putting the note in her pajama pocket and raising herself on her elbows Gabrielle was able to bring herself painfully to a sitting position, her ribs and some other bones that had been recently healed were still very sore.  
  
Pressing the soles of her feet against the cold stone floors she pushed down against the mattress with her arms bringing herself to her feet rather quickly and immediately getting dizzy. Swaying a bit she walked unsteadily out of her curtained off area and into the main wards hallway.  
  
Recently the hospital wing has been enlarged thanks to the war and the destruction of St. Mungos. Hogwarts now employed half of the St. Mungos staff to treat people injured and brought to Hogwarts after a battle.  
  
The air was chilly and it suddenly sent a feeling of giddiness and more dizziness into the blonde's head making her look down to be sure that her feet were planted firmly on the ground. Indeed they were but even through her muddled brain she spotted slightly dirty footprints on the white tiled floor leading deeper into the hospital wing. They weren't Madame Pomfrey's either, they were too big to be Madame Pomfrey's, and they were definitely a male's footprints.  
  
Unsteadily she followed them, moving her hand up against the wall as she went further into the hospital ward where the beds were no longer curtained off but separated into smaller rooms for more serious ailments and highly injured patients. There was a bunch of expensive equipment in every room like the kind she had seen in St. Mungos when her father had died of a dark burn a Death Eater had shot at him. That was also before the hospital was destroyed by Voldemort's forces.  
  
Looking back on it now Gabrielle realized that she had never given much speculation to the war until her family had gotten involve in it. The whole conflict just used to seem so far away from her and her interests, she had always figured that one day it would end and everyone would live happily ever after. But there was never a happily ever after for the Delacours, never a happily ever after for all the families that lost loved ones, and there was never a happily ever after for Harry Potter, who's parents were killed when he was a baby and whom the Dark Lord was now chasing, the boy that had pulled her from the lake back when the Triwizard Tournament was being hosted.  
  
//THE LAKE!\\ she mentally slapped herself feeling like the dimmest person in existence for not realizing it earlier. //A SWIM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE\\ Looking down at the ring on her hand she focused on the onyx lightening bolt and almost leapt into the air with excitement. //He's saved me twice already!\\ she thought.  
  
Gabrielle wanted to turn back and find him, surely her savior would be somewhere in Hogwarts being in his final year. God it was still hard to believe that it was him, it had to be him, she reasoned. She was about to spin on her heel and make her way out of the hospital wing when she heard voices, murmuring voices. Inching closer she realized there was someone in the very last hospital room. But why in the very last one while the ones closer were empty?  
  
Leaning against the door and putting her ear against it she listened carefully to the murmuring voices. From what she could tell there were three, all males. There was something familiar about one of them she couldn't tell who it was but it was familiar.  
  
"Sirius, you're going to kill me for this but right now I'm going to put a little faith in you, well not much faith but enough to believe you won't attack me." Glancing at anything but his godfather Harry fidgeted in his chair uneasily and wrung his hands.  
  
"Harry."the older man growled threateningly.  
  
Outside the room Gabrielle gasped in surprise. //Harry? As in Harry Potter? Is that why he sounds so familiar? Yes he sounds just like Smoke.\\she thought in excitement already feeling butterflies in her stomach that made her a bit dizzy. //But who's the other man, he called him Sirius. The only Sirius I've heard of was Sirius Black, but if that's him then why would he be talking to that murderer?\\ she thought now bewildered as everything in her head began to jumble and confuse her.  
  
From his position next to Harry, Remus sighed and rolled his eyes at both of them. He couldn't believe how long this was taking. Harry had jumped into fighting dozens of Death Eaters and Voldemort plenty of times yet the young man could not tell his own godfather he was a ninja mage.  
  
"Harry why don't you just tell him if worst comes to worst I'll restrain him." He said and chuckled from the glare his friend gave him.  
  
"Come on Remus you obviously know just tell me one of you it's not like I'm going to bite your heads off, it can't be that bad." The darker haired man whined then added more viciously. "At least it better not be that bad."  
  
Gabrielle couldn't take it any longer; she had to find out if it was really him. Bracing herself she turned the doorknob and burst into the room violently. Immediately spotting a young man who was talking to the two older men earlier. She was nearly prepared to leave when she felt a sudden torrent of sneezes building up in her nose.  
  
"Atchoo!" she sneezed once softly and rubbed the bridge of her nose to keep the next at bay, but no such luck as she sneezed a second time just as softly making it sound more like a kitten sneezing rather than a person. "Atchoo!"  
  
It had caught the attention of the other occupants of the room. Now all three of their gazes were focused on the blonde. As they watched her in shock she looked towards the youngest one of the men and assumed it was her noticing the small lightening bolt scar on her forehead. Smiling somewhat nervously she made towards him but found her legs were still weak and she tripped falling to her knees in front on him.  
  
"Gabrielle?" Harry whispered and immediately gripped her lightly by the arms and pulled her up so she could sit in the seat he had vacated. "Gabrielle what are you doing here, out of bed for that matter? Madame Pomfrey is going to be furious with you." He scolded her fully realizing he was giving himself away. He was still in a state of shock, his mind processing a hundred thoughts a second and telling him that the girl already knew. He saw it in her eyes, she had figured out the puzzle and found him. Now he just hoped she wouldn't give his identity away.  
  
The other two men watched them with some trepidation, Sirius especially whom was cautious with people tried not to meet the girl's eyes.  
  
"It's you." She whispered faintly still not believing it and clutched at his arms, which were still holding her up in the chair. "You saved me yesterday, and you saved me two years ago. You're Smoke, I know now. Thank you." She said staring deep into his bright green eyes and stretched her neck to lightly kiss him on the cheek making him blush again and release her arms as if they were on fire. It seemed that she had given him away but perhaps it was better this way, after all Sirius needed to know.  
  
From his position on the bed Sirius shot up right and wide-eyed. "What did she just call you?" he gripped the sheets hard in his clenched fists.  
  
"Smoke." Remus answered for him coming closer and pushing the other man down so he wasn't in a sitting position. "And for god's sake Sirius lay down before you get a stroke and leave Harry without a godfather." Sending a half-hearted glare at Remus and complying he refuse to believe that his godson was the ninja mage Smoke.  
  
By now Sirius had grabbed the young girls attention and she stared frozen and wide-eyed for a minute, her brain stuck in a state of fear and shock. Her mouth slowly opened ready to scream at the top of her lungs when a warm hand clamped down over her lips gently but firmly. She was going to try and pry the hand off when a soft reassuring voice whispered to her.  
  
"Shhh, calm down Gabby." Harry whispered. "If you promise not to scream I'll take my hand away, alright?"  
  
With her eyes still bulging she nodded faintly and gave an affirmative "mmmph." Through his hand.  
  
Slowly Harry released the pressure between his hand and her mouth before he let go completely and spoke again. "Do you trust me Gabby?"  
  
Hesitantly Gabrielle kept her eyes on Sirius but nodded, her posture stiff and her mind and body ready to jump to action at the slightest of moves.  
  
"Then you'll have to trust him. He's not a murderer I know that for a fact, I've seen the proof with my own eyes and even if you haven't I want you to know that this man right here," Harry pointed to Sirius before continuing. "If it weren't for him I'd be dead. Sirius Black never betrayed or killed anyone, he was framed. So if you could I'd like you to give him a chance." He peered into her light blue/silver eyes searching for some kind of answer and showing the sincerity in his own green ones.  
  
"I don't understand how." She said afraid to go against everything she was ever taught and told about the man that lay in the hospital bed staring at his own hands.  
  
"It's a long story Gab but you have to believe me, trust me when I say he was framed by another man, trust me when I say he is innocent, and trust me when I say that he has helped save many lives since the war started and even before it. Will you trust me?" He waited for her to think it over all the while he just stared at her, boring his gaze into hers.  
  
Relaxing slowly she Inhaled and exhaled for a moment and nodded again. "Right now I don't really know who to trust, I have no one left to trust but you." She said. "But if you trust him then I shall as well."  
  
Beaming with all his might he introduced her to both men. "You really don't know how much this means to me Gab. I'd like you to meet my godfather Sirius Black, and the best Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher Hogwarts has ever seen, Professor Remus Lupin." He gestured to each one of them as he explained who they were.  
  
Chuckling Remus shook his head. "You put me on too high a pedestal Harry I think there have been much better teachers to step into this school."  
  
"Give yourself a little more credit Remus, you're the best one I've had so far at least and not only far more trustworthy than all the others but also quite a bit more sane."  
  
"Only a bit more sane?" The lyncanthrope pretended to be hurt and put a hand over his heart. "What happened to all the rest of my sanity then?"  
  
"I think Padfoot drove it away." Harry said sticking his tongue out at his godfather playfully who threw a pillow at him and huffed good-naturedly.  
  
"I did not! I think Moony's just had a little too much exposure to Snape since he's working with the grease ball again."  
  
"Speaking of Severus," Remus spoke. "I believe our Harry here has gotten into a spot of trouble with him." At this point Sirius raised an eyebrow urging his friend on to tell him more which Remus was all to happy to tell him about how he managed to receive two dentions and 40 points off Gryffindor. Sirius honestly didn't know whether to laugh at his godson's antics or scowl at Snape's wish to get the boy expelled.  
  
It was then that Gabrielle noticed the magazine that had fallen off Sirius' lap onto the floor. Picking it up she flipped through the pages and giggled when coming to one particular page.  
  
"Oo-la-la!" She exclaimed and giggled into again pointing to the picture of Harry in his trunks. "Nice trunks Harry!"  
  
"Arrgh! Won't this ever blow over or am I going to be taunted for that for the rest of my life?" He moaned burying his face in his hands and turning a bright red color.  
  
"No I think you're going to be taunted by it for the rest of your life, especially if you give it back to Ms. Brockhurste." Remus teased him and beside him Sirius still wasn't letting go of the Smoke issue.  
  
"I think that magazine will be the least of his problems once I'm done with him! I mean how could you put yourself in that much danger?! You know what I don't want to know because I still don't believe your Smoke."  
  
Raising one of his dark eyebrows at his godfather Harry gave him a speculating look. "Honestly Sirius what else do you expect me to do? I don't see the Ministry doing anything, I don't see the Order of the Phoenix doing anything, and I sure as hell don't see anyone else doing a goddamn thing to stop Voldemort. Well guess what I found a solution." He said and pulled up on the chain around his neck to expose the lightening bolt pendant at the end of it.  
  
"Recognize this?" he asked displaying the pendant.  
  
It took a few moments of the other man staring at the piece of jewelry to cast his eyes down and nod. He had seen it before. He remembered being assaulted by curses and hexes from every which direction. He tried to dodge and block some but there was no use it seemed everyone was after his skin and he was struck multiple times. He remembered falling to the ground in pain, believing it was the end, that he would die a convict, die a murderer. But then a figure came, a tall figure in black warded everyone off with a katana and his wand before kneeling before him and using that same onyx lightening bolt pendant to transport them to the cottage he was hiding out in. It truly was him and there was nothing Sirius could do about it because deep down he knew, knew it was his godson whom would have to save them all from Voldemort.  
  
But that didn't mean he wouldn't protect him with all his might still. That didn't mean that he wouldn't try and be a good godfather. And that sure didn't mean he wouldn't fight along side him.  
  
Trying to change the subject he turned to the slender blonde girl that sat in the chair beside his bed listening to them speak. He hadn't spoken once to her really, at least nothing more than a "Nice to meet you." Swallowing the lump in his throat he spoke up as gently as possible so he wouldn't scare her any further than he already had.  
  
"So Gabrielle, how did you find us here?"  
  
"I followed the footprints that led to here." She said all the while clutching at the ring that she wore.  
  
"Footprints?" Remus furrowed his brows. "It's impossible to leave footprints in the hospital ward, the floors and walls are sanitized to clean those up before they're even made.  
  
Shrugging she answered truthfully albeit still curious herself. "Well they weren't ordinary footprints, they were bright orange." Of course at the time she did find them rather odd but if they led a certain way then she would follow.  
  
"Orange you said?" Harry smacked himself on the forehead and laughed at himself sarcastically. "This is not my day!"  
  
"Why what's so bad about orange footprints, well besides the obvious of course?" she asked.  
  
"The ring." He pointed to the one he asked her to look after. "I charmed the ring so the wearer could track recently made prints and I forgot to take that enchantment off."  
  
Looking closer and squinting slightly Sirius cried out suddenly. "Hey that's one of the quarter family rings!"  
  
"Quarter family what?" The other three said in unison.  
  
"The quarter family rings that have been passed down from the founders themselves to their predecessors. I had one almost like it before I was taken to Azkaban and so did Myron McKenzie and another family, I can't remember the last one though it was something starting with an "R"." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully trying to recall who was it that had the last ring. "Was it Roffle? No. Ummm.Reynolds? No. Riddley...Riddlum...RIDDLE!! That's it was the Riddle family." He exclaimed triumphantly and both Harry and Remus went deathly pale.  
  
"S-S-i-i-rius." Remus stuttered, his eyes wide and panicked. "Please tell me you didn't just say Riddle."  
  
"Of course I said Riddle. What's the matter with Thomas Riddle? Well besides the fact that he's dead, along with the rest of the Riddles, the Mckenzys, and come to think of it I'm the only surviving Black, and Harry's the only surviving Potter." Sirius was no longer his bubbly self instead he took on a haunted look, his eyes darkened and became glassy, his fist clenched and unclenched until he finally spoke breaking the thick silence in the room.  
  
"And I know exactly who killed them all.Voldemort." He snarled bitterly punching the mattress under him.  
  
"Sirius, it's impossible for the Riddles to be part of the quarter families, they were muggles not a drop of magic in them." His godson reasoned still in a haze as to what the quarter families actually were let alone their rings.  
  
"No, they came from a long line of Squibs. Descending from Slytherin I believe. Now Mckenzy descended from Hufflepuff but I have no idea what happened to him. Last I heard he moved to Marseilles, France. Dumbledore keeps accounts on the quarter families though."  
  
Gabrielle wrinkled her nose slightly trying to find something familiar that she'd heard about Mckenzy. "I think I've heard of Mckenzy before.we used to live in Marseilles."  
  
Now getting everyone's attention Gabrielle sat and searched her mind for some clue as to who the man was and whether of not she met him. "I know a Ronnie Mckenzy, he's my uncle on my mother's side." She said still deep in thought until she heard someone talk.  
  
"That's what we all called him! Ron or Ronnie as in Myron." Remus said but then the realization hit him. "That would mean that Voldemort was after your sister and you. I think he wants the remaining quarter families dead."  
  
"That much is obvious." Harry murmured and turned back to his godfather seeking more answers. "And since Riddle is the Slytherin descendant, Gabby the Hufflepuff, then I'm guessing I'm the Gryffindor and you're the Ravenclaw?" he inquired and the older man nodded affirming his suspicion.  
  
"How did you guess?" he asked.  
  
"Simple, in my second year I took the Gryffindor sword out of the Sorting hat. Dumbledore told me that only a true Gryffindor could take it, back then I wasn't reading too deeply into that but now it makes sense."  
  
Furrowing his brows Sirius looked a smidge confused. "What did you need the sword for?"  
  
It was then that Harry realized that he still hadn't told his godfather about his second year and proceeded to tell all of them the events down in the Chamber of Secrets. Of course their curiosity led to his other years as well. Ranging from his first where he rescued the Philosophers stone all the way to the present year where he now fought against the dark forces using simple charms, advanced curses and hexes, minuscule use of the Dark Arts, which had resulted in a screaming match from Sirius, and fighting techniques.  
  
"So you see my life isn't the piece of cake that the reporters all make it out to be. Ever since I was 11 years old I've been struggling to survive and I bet I'll still be struggling for a good deal longer." He sighed raking a hand through his hair and pulling it back into a ponytail, which he tied with a ribbon that he kept in his pocket.  
  
All of a sudden Sirius spoke rather loudly making his words echo off the white washed walls nearly startling them. "Wait a minute, for some reason our dear Headmaster seems to be playing an enormous role in your life. Harry if I didn't know any better I'd say he's setting you up for something. And after all these years he still doesn't think you're ready to know the truth about why you survived, about why Voldemort was after you in the first place." He paused for a breath thinking about the old man's role in everything. "Something smells foul in Hogwarts and I know for sure it's not only Snape's breath."  
  
They sat ion silence before Remus broke the silence snorting. "Honestly Padfoot couldn't you lay off Severus for one moment?"  
  
"Why Moony? It's not like he's your secret lover or anything." The other man laughed. "At least I hope not my sleep depends on knowing that Snape is and always will be an overgrown bat. See it puts me to rest knowing that the grease ball won't get layed in this decade before me." Grinning from ear to ear Sirius tried to deflect the pillow Remus threw at him only to be smacked in the face with it.  
  
Getting back on topic Harry shrugged. "I agree that Dumbledore is keeping something from me but I think I already have some idea what it is." He said morosely.  
  
"You're connection with Voldemort?" Remus asked and received a bitter nod in return. Trying to reassure him the lyncanthrope looked for something positive to say finally coming up with something that would help sooth the boy's godfather as well, whom was on the edge of his nerves trying vainly not to combust.  
  
"Surely it will go away once the Dark Lord is defeated."  
  
Barking a short laugh he shook his head bitterly again. "It's not that easy Remus. I have a theory about our connection. I think that when I was a baby and Voldemort shot the killing curse at me I somehow not knowingly pulled on the magic he used to send it with tying it to my own in desperation to stay alive. Then the curse rebounded because part of him was already in me and you all know that it's impossible to send the Killing Curse at yourself so it shot back at him sucking away at his magic and body until he was nothing but a mere shadow. My theory is that Voldemort only survived because of his connection with me. He fed off of my magic reserve little by little until he was reborn. And I feed off of him in my greatest need. So you see we depend on each other."  
  
Searching frantically for a way out of this theory, searching for another possible answer Sirius' heartbeat increased dramatically as his breathing became harsh. Harsh enough that Remus had to perform a slight tranquilizing charm to calm him before he hurt himself.  
  
"That's not true Harry! There has to be some other explanation. Some other way." His godfather argued with him. And Gabrielle joined in pleading for him to say it was all a joke. She may have not known much about his whole situation but she understood what he meant. The only way Voldemort would die was if Harry died himself.  
  
"Harry." tears sprung up in her eyes as she pleaded with the young man. "Please, tell me it isn't true, tell me you're wrong, that it's only a hunch. Please."  
  
Although he was convinced himself that his life would be short, short because of a monster that society created, he couldn't say he was one hundred percent sure. It would bring immense comfort for them all to know it was a hunch, then that way nobody would feel sorry for him. Nobody would have to share his burden; they would be able to breath freely and focus on their own lives.  
  
"Well it is only a theory, I can either be one hundred percent right or one hundred percent wrong. It's a 50/50 chance Gabby, so don't worry I'll probably end up burning old Voldie's arse to the ground and still come out alive, then I guess you could go ahead and laugh at me." Smiling he ruffled her hair affectionately messing up her long silver/blonde hair.  
  
"But one thing's for sure Gab, whatever happens someone has to bring that monster down. So don't feel sorry for me, there's a very good chance I'll live. For now though I'd rather we focus on the casualties that we've suffered at Beaxbatons." Glancing back to Remus whom was probably the only one in the room to know how many people they lost he inquired of the Order's records.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to know how many died yesterday would you Moony?"  
  
"Albus told me about 250 Aurors and 3,654 staff under the Beaxbatons collapse. Thank Merlin it wasn't 3,655." He said referring to Gabrielle. The numbers were great, greater than in any of the previous battles taken place in the past. There were so many innocent lives wasted that it burned at your heart just to know that you survived, survived the previous massacres and showdowns.  
  
The room was silent for what seemed to be hours but only lasted less than five minutes. Each occupant sat mourning the dead and boiling in anger. Revenge was the only thing running through each of their heads except for one; Harry was not out for revenge this time. There was a greater triumph that could be brought around and he would accomplish his task. He had to protect his friends and loved ones and he would use any means necessary to do so. He would keep Voldemort from reaching his goal by protecting his godfather and Gabrielle.  
  
Thinking of her he still didn't know why Gabrielle had come to find him.  
  
"Gabby you didn't answer my question earlier, why are you out of bed in the first place when you could barely walk. You should be resting, you've been through quite a bit."  
  
Looking at him with her large blue/silver eyes she tried to keep the tears that pushed to leak out away. "I want revenge Harry. I want them to pay for what they did to my family and friends. I want you to teach me to fight like you; I can help you if you let me. Please." She begged.  
  
All Harry could do was stare at her blankly. Absolutely nothing went through his mind as he continued staring at her. Taking into account her desperate watery eyes, her fragile body, her tear stained face, and her trembling lip. And like a ton of bricks it smashed him upside the head and he already knew his answer.  
  
  
  
***********************************AUTHOR'S NOTE***********************************  
  
Hey everyone! Sorry for the cliff hanger but I just had to leave it there. Well I think I have this chapter down even though I had some problems deciding a few things and I'm still a bit unsure about the result I believe I can work with it. I hope you all like the chapter since many of you (*coughs* maybe not so many) have requested for an update. Review and let me know what you think. Oh and before you say anything, no this is not one of those fics where Sirius is really Harry's father so rest assured that our boy-who-lived is still sadly without any real parents. But that may change!! Makes you wonder doesn't it? 


	4. Cutest Rear Of The Year

The Hero Hidden Beneath A Traitor's Clothing  
  
Summary: Voldemort is at the height of his power once more, terrorizing both the Muggle and Wizarding World's he is considered unstoppable and ruthless. There is only one person left who can truly defeat him, a boy that the world has set on a pedestal. In his seventh year the boy is now a man and single handedly taking on the dark forces but are the people truly grateful to this mysterious warrior, or will he have to depend on another girl several years younger than him and a complete stranger to believe in him.  
  
Rated: R (for adult content and some violence)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the talented Ms. Rowling does, and the WB has some rights to the series. I just write for the hell of it all, so don't sue. I don't have anything worth taking me to court over.  
  
Chapter 4: Cutest Rear Of The Year  
  
Looking at him with her large blue/silver eyes she tried to keep the tears that pushed to leak out away. "I want revenge Harry. I want them to pay for what they did to my family and friends. I want you to teach me to fight like you; I can help you if you let me. Please." She begged.  
  
All Harry could do was stare at her blankly. Absolutely nothing went through his mind as he continued staring at her. Taking into account her desperate watery eyes, her fragile body, her tear stained face, and her trembling lip. And like a ton of bricks it smashed him upside the head and he already knew his answer.  
  
"No." he said clearly enough for everyone in the room to hear and stern enough in the hopes that Gabrielle would drop her silly idea. But that was not the case as she continued to beg.  
  
"Please Harry. You know you can't keep fighting by yourself; sooner or later you'll get out numbered and then what? And if you're not there for me what am I supposed to do if You-Know-Who comes after me? We could make a good team. I learn fast, very fast. Please." She kept begging and at one point she made the foolish and desperate mistake of using her Veela charm on him. Although she was young and wasn't able to control it as well she knew the basics and her magic level was high so it boosted the charm up more.  
  
Within seconds Harry's eyes started glazing over and all he could see was Gabrielle and her pleading eyes, her inviting lips, her creamy skin, her soft hair. His thoughts were mixed up and set to the back of his mind as he continued to stare at her. But then her image changed in his mind, he saw her fighting along his side, he saw her being struck by curses and falling. He saw her dieing, her life wasting away and finally she was gone. He couldn't let that happen so he roughly shook his head.  
  
Veela's charm could at times be more powerful than the Imperius Curse and that's the reason there were so few of them in the first place. The Ministries of the magical countries would slay them and now the only full blooded Veelas were treated like animals locked up in cages and put on display.  
  
"Gabrielle Delacour if you try that on me one more time I won't even think about helping you." He scolded her and was met by curious glances from the two other men in the room and one guilty one from the blonde who immediately looked down not daring to meet his gaze.  
  
"I'm sorry." She responded then broke off and Harry could hear a sniffle come from her direction. She was crying, or at least holding back tears. Now he regretted ever reprimanding her.  
  
"Gabby come on please don't start crying, I know you were desperate and you want your revenge but using your Veela charm is no way to get anything. Of course I believe you should use your gifts to your own advantage but use judgment, think things through before you do it." Sighing he shook his head asking himself if he was crazy for doing what he was about to do.  
  
"Lesson one," he began. "If you want something badly then strive for it, never look down or away and use any means necessary to get it short of killing, of course." Before she could comprehend what all this meant Harry went on to another important topic.  
  
"Lesson two, call him by his name. Lord Voldemort, or Tom Riddle. Fear of the name will only raise fear of the actual being. He doesn't deserve to be feared or given as much respect by being called You-Know-Who. Besides it adds to his bloated ego." He smirked at her excited expression as she nodded rapidly taking everything he was saying in before launching herself at him.  
  
"Merci Beacoup! Thank you Harry! You don't know how much this means to me." As she clung to him she murmured thanks to him over and over again until he pried her off a bit. Her arms were still around his neck but now she was staring him in the face.  
  
"This is going to be hard you know. I don't want you complaining about the amount of work you have to do because you'll be doing a lot as soon as you're healthy enough. For now I think I'll just teach you from the books but when you get your strength up I'm going to push you to your breaking point. It took me two years to become what I am but I barely had any help, now you have help and I expect you to be ready in a year. Understand?"  
  
"I understand Harry, and I'll try my hardest, I won't let you down, and I won't let my family down either." She smiled as her eyes shone with unshed tears that soon began to run down her face again.  
  
Reaching up he wiped her tears away with his thumbs and brushed her hair out of her face combing it behind her ear. "For now go get some rest. Do you think you could make it back to bed?"  
  
"I don't want to go yet though. Can't I stay? I might have some ideas concerning your theory about the connection you share with You-Kn.er.Vo- Voldemort." She breathed a sigh of relief once she said the name and casually looked around as if expecting the Dark Lord to pop out of thin air upon mention of his name. Seeing that nothing happened she got up off Harry's lap where she was sitting earlier to her chagrin and returned to her own chair.  
  
"Harry you can't be serious! You can't put her in danger like that!" Remus yelled. It was bad enough the boy had to go around risking his life like that but to involve a young girl was just crazy he reasoned with himself.  
  
"No I'm Harry, he's Sirius." The young man used the age old joke and pointed to his godfather whom despite being on his friend's side in the argument had to snicker behind his palm earning himself the roll of Remus' eyes.  
  
"You know what I mean Harry James Potter, I can understand you becoming a ninja mage, you have a reason, a destiny, but Gabrielle is too young. You can't put her life on the line like that."  
  
At first Harry had been against Gabrielle becoming his apprentice as well but she was determined and he couldn't make those kinds of choices for her, she had to make them herself and he found himself defending the young girl's desire.  
  
"Remus I wouldn't put her in any kind of danger until I was certain she could handle it, and even then I'd be by her side. I became a ninja mage because I was tired of being defenseless, now I'm helping her for the same reason. She's a smart girl she knows what all this means and if not she always has the choice to drop it. I can't make these decisions for her."  
  
"Why is everyone talking like I'm not here?!" the aggravated blonde chorused. "I have a right to be heard as well. I mean no disrespect Mr. Lupin but Harry is right this is my choice and my choice alone. I want revenge and I will get it by any means necessary." Although the girl seemed so frail and harmless in her condition she had a glare to kill on the spot and the only thing visible in her expression was anger and determination.  
  
Remus and Sirius both knew it would be impossible to stop the pair from achieving whatever heights they planned for. In a way, they both thought with a shiver trailing down their spines, the two looked ready to lead an entire army to war. Now they both knew why the hat wanted to put James Potter's son in Slytherin, he was ambitious and sly to the end. But the bravery in the boy's heart exceeded all, so much that he could carry the courage of 100 Gryffindors.  
  
"Alright." The two older men agreed to cease their argument but not their worries.  
  
Changing the subject to break the tense silence Harry turned back to the blonde girl sitting in front of him and asked. "So you said you had some kind of theories or ideas about the connection Riddle and I share?" ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````````````````````````````` "Yes but I don't know how good they are, after all I just came up with them so they might seem silly." She apologized before hand but Harry still urged her on.  
  
"Well I figured that seeing as you were connected from that night you survived, what if you went back before it even happened when the connection was non-existent and kill Voldemort then." She said slightly uncertain of herself with the idea.  
  
For a moment Harry had to admit to himself the idea was brilliant but the change that could occur if he went to the past and turned everything around could be too great and some things and people could cease to exist.  
  
"Out of the question Gabrielle. We can't change the past it's too dangerous even if the idea is good. You said you had other ideas though?" Sirius said quickly. He did not want his godson doing something as dangerous as time travel, especially a leap into the past that large and without him there to watch over the boy.  
  
Harry was still thinking over the possible ways that things could go wrong or right in that situation. Weighing the pros and cons on an imaginary scale and deducing what he would have to do and whether such a thing would actually work. He was so caught up that he didn't notice Sirius objecting then later Remus giving the same negative input about it.  
  
Slightly defeated that what she suggested was no good the blonde went on to tell him the other one. "Well since you're pretty much bound to the Dark Lord by your life force what if you bound yourself to someone else? Then you could kill him and not worry about dying yourself because you could feed off the other person's power temporarily until you get your full strength back."  
  
Another brilliant idea, Harry realized. //Where does this kid get all of these from? I don't remember being this smart at her age.\\ he thought to himself.  
  
Sitting there he looked for some kind of loophole that could rule that suggestion out but he couldn't find one and soon he heard Sirius speak to him.  
  
"She's right you know it's a good idea Harry, you should consider it." He said then Remus added.  
  
"He's right you should, it's a lot less dangerous this way. I know we all want to change the past and that's probably what's running through your head right now but we can't. What's done is done and that's the end. But if you do bind yourself to this one person it could save your life and possibly other lives in the process."  
  
"I think," Harry said softly still a bit dazed from the possibilities. "I could consider both of them. I mean I know traveling to the past is dangerous and so is changing anything but think about it. If I bind myself to someone then bring the person with me to the past, then whatever I change back there wouldn't reflect on me because I wouldn't really be me, I'd have another part of someone in my soul so even if I go back to when I was just born there wouldn't be two Harry Potters at the same time. I can make so many things better this way and if I die then Harry Potter will still live and there would technically be no loss. I could stop Peter's betrayal, my parents' deaths, Sirius being framed, the death of rest of the quarter families, deaths and injuries of others. I could meet your parents too." He said almost on the edge of his seat with excitement with all the things he could achieve, all the dreams he could make come true.  
  
The younger man's godfather shook his head again feeling so lost now. "No you can't because you could never come back Harry, you'd be stuck in the past. And what about binding yourself to someone? Who would this person be? Who would want to bind themselves to another person and come back into the past risking death and being trapped there to live in that time? Believe me when I say if I was given the chance to change things around then I'd probably consider taking it as well but come on, be reasonable this can't possibly happen."  
  
Sirius must have thought that he was getting through to Harry because the boy's face began to light up into a small smile and he grinned himself feeling proud of himself for making such a break through, through his godson's stubborn head. But that feeling slowly diminished when he caught Harry take a side long glance at the blonde girl sitting in front of him then go back to thinking with the same grin on his face. It was a day dreaming sort of smile that Sirius had seen many times on himself; normally either meaning "another brilliant idea" or "a prank to top all pranks" had come to him. This wasn't good and he quickly figured out what the little look was all about before he began to strongly protest.  
  
"No!" he yelled startling the other three occupants of the room. " Harry I know what you're thinking but you can't do that! Haven't you heard a word I said before, its too dangerous and you can't do that to her no matter how well you think you'd be able to protect her."  
  
"What?" Gabrielle asked, she was completely lost in what the man was talking about; the only thing that was obvious was that she was the main subject. "I thought that we already agreed that Harry would help train me, that it's my decision if I want to participate in it."  
  
"No," the tawny haired lyncanthrope across the room answered and filled her in on what was going on in a tired voice. "Sirius thinks that Harry wants to bind himself to you, if you were willing." Even though it wasn't confirmed yet Remus knew it was most likely true but he didn't argue. Perhaps it would be a good idea, even if it weren't the two would go ahead and go through with it regardless of what they said.  
  
"If that's so then I'm willing. Gabrielle joined in persuading Harry whom seemed a little unsure still. "Bind yourself to me, I'm willing. I can go back to the past with you and I'll help you fight there. I'll do anything I can to see my family again. You know you want to Harry, you know that it's possible and convenient. Think of it, you could go as James Black posing as your godfathers brother, you look alike enough for that people would believe such a thing. You could get to know the Marauders and your mother, you could stop Voldemort, keep the coming Harry Potter from having to go through what you did. You could give him a normal life, be there for him, you could do so many things." Then in a slightly more excited voice she said, " And I could stop my family from perishing. I could get to know them as well, I can see Fluer again."  
  
The offer was more than tempting. He couldn't simply turn his back on it. Getting to know his parents and giving himself a normal life. There couldn't be anything more tempting in the world, and giving Gabrielle so much happiness by saving her family. The young man sat slumped over on the side of Sirius' bed with his elbows resting on his knees and his chin set on his fists. He regarded the members of the room, what they each had said did get to him but now he had to battle with his conscience.  
  
"Gabby even though I want to do this I think Sirius might be right I can't put you through that. You have a life here in the future."  
  
Scowling she answered back to him forcefully. "What kind of a life is this?! Without my family?! Then if you leave I'd be without you?! What kind of half-life would I be leading?! My life wouldn't be worth living then. Don't you understand I need to fight, I need to win and I need to do it by your side."  
  
"You don't know what you want yet Gabrielle, you're still blinded by a cloud of blood over your sisters death. Don't let that cloud blind you any further than it already has. It's not as simple as it may all seem. And don't offer to be bound to someone so quickly, you don't know what that entails much less the circumstances behind it in order for such a thing to work." He said and realized this quarrel was hurting him as much as it was hurting the blonde girl.  
  
For a 14-year-old Gabrielle was very unrelenting Harry had to admit as she continued to argue with him.  
  
"I know perfectly well what it entails and don't tell me otherwise. I know you have to be matched properly with the person, I know that it is like a marriage, I know what I'd have to do." She said.  
  
" Do you really know what this includes?" Sirius began to interfere again trying to dissuade her. It doesn't just include a simple marriage, this marriage would be eternal, and not only would you need to be matched up correctly but the physical part would be necessary to combine fluids and create a strong enough magical reaction. I don't think you'd want to be tied down to anyone like that. Once you realize what all this means you'll regret proposing it." He said giving her a look that said 'think about it' before adding in as an after thought. "Plus you're only fourteen you have your whole life set ahead of you, I think you're a bit young to get married aren't you?" he chuckled at the scowl on her face. He had no doubt she still wouldn't relent although her pale skin was covered in a light flush from the time he mentioned "the physical part" of the marriage.  
  
"I'm mature for my age!" she argued. "And it wouldn't matter what age we were if we matched in our magical compound would it? I'm only three years younger than Harry. I understand if you don't want it to be me though. I'm sure there are plenty of other girls you'd want to be with your godson, you don't have to go calling me a child." She sulked and pouted slightly.  
  
"Will you please stop arguing already? Nothing is decided yet so calm down, and Sirius by the way you're acting it seems you're more a child than anyone else in this room." Remus stepped in preventing further disagreements.  
  
Glaring at the lyncanthrope Sirius snapped at him. "Moony let me ask you a question. How would you feel if your godson was gallivanting around killing Death Eaters by his lonesome self while maintaining a secret identity? Then he brings on a fourteen year old apprentice and wants to basically marry her so he can go back about 20 years into the past and change it for the better when he might just change it for the worse."  
  
"I'd be proud of him." The other man answered. "And believe me I am proud of him for doing so much, for taking this kind of responsibility and for being brave and clever enough to achieve such a thing. He's an adult Paddy, Harry knows what he's doing, plus aren't you the one that mopes over the past every single day of your life? How you keep saying you wished you could change it, well here's a chance."  
  
"Bollocks Remmy I might lose my godson in this." He grumbled, the said in a quieter note. "James appointed me his godfather so I could be there for him. How am I supposed to be there for my godson, no practically my own son when I can't talk to him or see him, or even write to him? I've missed to much already I just don't want to lose Harry."  
  
Feeling the need to interfere and bring the man's spirits up Harry placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can be there by believing in me Paddy. And you don't have to worry about me going anywhere any time soon. I said it would take a year for Gabby to train, right? Well I want her ready before we go anywhere especially if we go to the summer of 1978." He grinned and ruffled the older man's hair despite being the younger one. "Besides," he added. "There won't be a wedding yet so don't get yourself worked up over it. Either way either you'd be there or your past self would."  
  
Chuckling Sirius admitted defeat and nodded trying to untangle the not in his hair that Harry created. "Sure Smokey." He said and the younger man gave him a bemused look.  
  
"What?" he asked and Sirius pointed to the exposed tattoo of the wolf on his arm.  
  
"You actually thought you could hide your little secret from me for long?" the older man laughed and patted the tattoo. "It seems we have the first Marauder of the new generation Moony maybe he could join us during the full moon. What do you say?" he asked his friend.  
  
"Harry you're an animagi?" the lyncanthrope's eyes widened incredulously as the Gryffindor nodded an affirmative answer. "Since when?"  
  
"Well I started researching and practicing at the beginning of fifth year then I finished the transformation at the beginning of sixth."  
  
"Just one year?" Sirius asked. "It took us two years to get it down, but I should have guessed after all you are Prong's son, he was the best out of all of us at transfiguration. I'm not even surprised that you did it, I'm just surprised you're not a horse or stag, something with hooves like James."  
  
"Not fair! How'd you know Sirius?" the boy grumbled.  
  
"Easy," the other man grinned. "I have a tattoo of Padfoot too."  
  
"Where? I don't see it."  
  
"That's because you weren't meant to see it Harry." Remus started to answer for Sirius and snickered as if remembering an old joke. "It's on his arse." He finished and went into guffaws of laughter along with everyone else except for Padfoot himself whom turned a bright red but grinned non-the- less.  
  
"Oh my god." Harry gasped for air. "That's who's behind that was in the gallery!" and continued laughing until he was forced to explain. "There is a gallery back at Boss, the company that I model for and at one time where Paddy here did as well. The gallery is made up of sections of pictures dedicated to each model that ever worked there. I remember walking around and I saw that tattoo on someone's bare behind and I thought to myself that it looked just like a particularly friendly Grim that I know. Well I thought that was absurd but I should have known!"  
  
"It's still up there?" the older man asked obviously pleased.  
  
"Yeah and its up amongst the cutest rears voted on at your time. They started compiling pictures of those and putting them all together on one wall."  
  
"Harry?" asked a slightly concerned Remus Lupin.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Why pray tell were you looking at pictures of men's bare bottoms in the first place?"  
  
"Oh.." He lapsed into silence and blushed hiding his head in his hands before mumbling a muffled "because my agent gave me the heads up that my naked bum was up there too."  
  
"Oh!!" squealed Gabrielle. "Is it in the magazine?!"  
  
"I have no idea, I don't remember how many photos of me they put in there." He answered lying right threw his teeth and slowly rising to snatch the magazine from the bedside table where the young blonde was already reaching for.  
  
"Remus I think it may be a good idea to confiscate this magazine. Don't you think? After all it is distracting the students and you are the teacher so it would be proper to take it away." He suggested but before handing it over he was tackled by the pale fourteen-year-old whom giggled playfully and reached for it.  
  
Toppling over onto the floor Harry stretched out and held it out of the girls reach the whole time laughing as she struggled to slither up his body which she'd fallen on top of to reach it as he held her by the shoulder with one hand to keep her down the young animagi thrust the magazine to his DADA professor whom not only seemed highly amused but when he caught it started leafing through the pages.  
  
"No!" Harry yelped when Remus victoriously found the right page and handed it to Gabrielle whom had gotten off of him and in the process accidentally shoved her knee into his stomach.  
  
"Serves you right for displaying your arse like that." The older man laughed as Gabby stared at the picture and giggled herself silly.  
  
Completely embarrassed by now Harry got up off the floor and sat down heavily in the chair Gabrielle vacated. "Funny ha ha." He said rolling his eyes. "Enjoying the view Gabby?" he asked sarcastically.  
  
"Indeed." She answered and closed the magazine. "It seems you really have earned the right to have your bum in those pages."  
  
From there on the conversation continued on a lighter note at which point Remus told him of the meeting the Order of the Phoenix would be having around eight o'clock in the evening. They spent the next hour and a half telling funny stories and jokes among them was the one Sirius was telling now with Remus clutching his stomach and laughing hysterically remembering that certain event.  
  
".and then after James bought the ring, he kept sneaking out of Gryffindor Tower at night and he'd go practice his proposal with a suit of armor somewhere on the third floor." Sirius grinned recalled it and continued. "One night Moony and I followed him and snuck behind the suit he was practicing on. We used the invisibility cloak and starting talking back to him." This time he chuckled as his eyes twinkled merrily at the memory.  
  
"To say the least your father was pissed after he nearly wet his pants. Wouldn't talk to us for a few days until he actually proposed and your mother accepted."  
  
At that point Remus had calmed down some and wiped the tears out of his eyes before taking over the story. "Well I can't say you were all happy either Padfoot you were mad at James for being mad at you." He snickered at the absurdity of the whole thing before going on. "They forgave each other believe it or not after James asked Sirius to be his best man."  
  
"That reminds me!" Sirius exclaimed smiling. "Harry?" he asked innocently. //A little too innocently to be for my good\\ Harry thought to himself before acknowledging him.  
  
"What Padfoot?"  
  
"Can I be the best man at your wedding?" he grinned cheekily and in return got the pillow stolen from under his head by the young man and received a smack in the face with it.  
  
"There isn't going to be a wedding." Harry rolled his eyes at him. "At least not yet." And he immediately knew that he shouldn't have said the last part because Remus automatically picked up and started teasing him again.  
  
"Aww did you hear that Padfoot he said not yet, means Harry here is planning on something!" then turning to Gabrielle he said. "Gabrielle if he's anything like his dear old father then I'd follow him at night and see if he talks to any suits of armor." The girl blushed uncontrollably and hid her face in her face but resurfaced laughing when Harry smacked his DADA teacher with the pillow as well before handing it back to his godfather.  
  
"I think perhaps I should stay silent." The young girl said. "For I fear the wrath of the pillow."  
  
"Nah!" the Gryffindor's godfather said. "I doubt our Smokey here would do something as ungentlemanly like as pummel his future bride with a downy pillow." Smirking as the young man glared at him the dog animagi childishly stuck out his tongue at him.  
  
"Would you shut up Sirius otherwise I'll do something very drastic in the past." Harry couldn't believe he had the gall to say that. There they were talking about carefree things and having a swell time and he had to go and ruin it by bringing up a subject they argued about only an hour or so ago.  
  
Surprisingly Sirius didn't have as much of a negative input on it, as he would have thought, actually Harry was shocked by what the man told him.  
  
"You better Harry, I'll be expecting my big brother there. Just promise me you'll make things better, I know I shouldn't be putting this much responsibility on your shoulders, you're already loaded up with the weight of the world but I think it's time I believe in you some more."  
  
The room was lapsed in silence as all four people absorbed every aspect of what this meant.  
  
"You always did believe in me, you were one of the only people that never questioned my loyalty or my ability. And for all it means, which is a lot, you were always my father, ever since third year when we practically saved each other, you save me from the dark side while I saved you from the light. Ironic isn't it?" Harry smiled recalling his third year and shivered at the thought of the Dementors. They were horrid creatures; it was only too bad they were immortal.  
  
"Thanks kiddo that does mean a lot. And for what its worth, you're the only thing that kept me from going mad in Azkaban, the thought of you. I thought you were safe and happy all those years so I didn't act sooner, but I wish I had, I wish I escaped earlier and convinced Dumbledore of my innocence. Then maybe I wouldn't be an escaped convict now, maybe I'd have you as a son legally."  
  
"I don't know if that will ever happen with us but I promise that Harry Potter will know his godfather." The Gryffindor said to the other man indicating that he was planning to do something about their situation.  
  
As Gabby listened silently to their conversation she really understood how close the two were and how wrong everyone is about Sirius Black, including how wrong she used to be. He was not barbarian, criminal, murderer, or traitor. The man didn't possess one single traitorous bone in his body. He could definitely be more a Hufflepuff than she could ever be herself. And putting such a noble man into a hell like Azkaban was horrible and that led her to think about how they could prevent it in the past. That is if Harry planned on bringing her, he still seemed a bit awkward and unsure around her. Deciding to ask her question the young blonde spoke up.  
  
"So you'll bring me to the past with you?" Gabrielle asked sounding hopeful as she clutched at his warm arm with her cool hands. The touched caught the Gryffindor by surprise and he jumped a foot off the bed. Gabrielle's hand trembled as she pulled it back startled by his sudden action.  
  
Harry stared at her with his eyes widened by that simple touch. He wasn't expecting that, he wasn't used to intimate touches anymore than he was used to his Aunt Petunia hugging him or Uncle Vernon praising him for just being himself.  
  
"S-sorry I didn't mean to do that." She whispered seeing the shock in his green eyes. "Maybe I should just leave." Unsteadily she raised herself from the edge of the hospital bed where she'd been sitting and bolted from the room barely managing to open the door before crashing into it. Although staying on her feet was a bit harder as she slipped and fell trying to get up, her weak limbs wouldn't support her and her head was still in a rush, everything spun and she just sat there before a warm pair of arms picked her off the floor.  
  
She fought numbly against the pair of arms and beat her fists against the hard chest that she was leaned against until she heard a faint whisper by her ear. "Shh. Don't be afraid Gabby, it's only me."  
  
"Leave me be! You don't want me!" she struggled as tears threatened to escape her and Harry continued to keep hold of her. He stepped into the nearest empty hospital room and shut the door lying the flailing blonde down on the bed and sitting by her.  
  
"I never said I didn't want you." He told her and reached for her pale hand only to have it snatched away out of his grasp.  
  
"You implied it." She argued and roughly yanked the blankets over her shivering body and sulked there.  
  
Getting tired of her childish behaviors Harry was just about to rip his own hair out in frustration when he reminded himself the girl just went through a lot and probably wasn't thinking as clearly as she should.  
  
"I never implied it Gabrielle. This is coming on to fast and I don't even know where you got these ideas but what you're looking for is revenge. Pure and simple revenge. I want you to cool down and think about what's even more important in this war. You're a smart lass and I know you'll figure it out soon. Once you do that, think about what we'll be risking if we bind ourselves and go into the past."  
  
"I already know what this war is all about and I know what risks we'd be taking." She stood her ground on the subject stubbornly.  
  
"I thought you wanted to learn here? I'm training you and this is part of your training. Thinking things through is sometimes more important than being able to pull off some impressive stunt or curse. Understand?"  
  
"Yes." She murmured looking down at her hands avoiding his eyes in fear of seeing hate, disgust, annoyance, or simply disappointment. She expected him to leave, to go back to his godfather and professor but he didn't instead he slumped down in the chair by her bed and groaned. For the first time Gabrielle realized he must be tired, he never received any medical attention in fear of being found out, and the little rest he did get must have been fitful. She knew hers was.  
  
"You're tired." She said. "Why not go to your dorm and sleep?" she suggested in a way trying to get rid of him and spare embarrassing herself any further.  
  
Chuckling he stretched his long legs out and sighed dropping his head back to lye on the back of the chair. "Now who doesn't want whom?" he joked.  
  
"I never said I didn't want you." She answered and he shot right back. "You implied it." And Gabrielle realized he was teaching her a lesson. She had said the same thing to him and it was tiresome to hear such a thing.  
  
"I'm sorry." The blonde ended up apologizing. "I was acting like a child I don't know what came over me." Staying silent for a few moments she added almost incoherently. "Maybe it's because I am a child."  
  
"You were upset." The dark haired young man corrected her and forgave her for her previous behavior at the same time. "And you couldn't possibly have all your wits all about you at the time. Rest a little will you already. Madame Pomfrey's probably already sick with worry wondering where you are and you might as well get better."  
  
"And what about you? You're tired too."  
  
"Don't worry about me I'll just take a short little nap." Yawning he stretched his muscular frame out before resting his cheek on his fist and closing his eyes but Gabrielle interrupted once more.  
  
"That's hardly comfortable." And taking two of the three pillows from under her head she laid them by hers ad patted the one on top invitingly. "Here lye down for now."  
  
Albeit he was a little hesitant the need to relax and sleep as comfortably as possible and at the same time guard Gabrielle won over. Letting her move over a little before laying down beside the blonde he tried to keep a good distance between them despite being separated by the quilt that Gabrielle was using. However the narrow bed did not permit much of a distance and he was forced to scoot closer so he wouldn't end up sprawled on the floor.  
  
Now that they lay back-to-back Harry was able to close his eyes for a moment, it was chilly in the hospital wing but at least it was quiet unlike Gryffindor Tower. As soon as he was ready to drift off Gabrielle spoke up letting forth a question she had been dying to ask.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"If you had the chance and everything was right, there was nothing that could go horribly wrong and it was your last resort, would you go back to the past to fix things?" What she left hanging in the air was 'Would you take me with you to the past to fix things?' and Harry knew that what she wanted was reassurance. Gabrielle had to know she was needed.  
  
"Yes Gabby I'd take you with me if you wanted to too. Now go to sleep before you go anywhere you need to be ready Cherie." He answered using one of the French words he knew causing her to giggle. 'Cherie' he knew meant 'my darling.'  
  
"What? Was my pronunciation wrong?" he complained only causing her to laugh harder. He had to admit to himself she did have a beautiful laugh, like a song almost.  
  
"Non," she said. "Your pronunciation was magnific! I have just never heard you speak francais. Do you speak much of it?"  
  
Grunting almost bitterly he answered affirming her question. "Yes, my cousin Dudley has to take it in his muggle school and when I come home from Hogwarts my relatives make me do most of his homework for him. I don't complain, it just gives me something to do besides spy on people, fight, and work out and do my own homework."  
  
"You lead a busy life, a dangerous one too. I am sorry about your family though, I never knew they would be that way." The blonde apologized and turned over to face his back, timidly reaching out and placing a hand over it. Once she noticed he did not jump at her touch she rubbed in small circles.  
  
"What are you doing?" He questioned her perplexed at her actions and receiving her answer of "I'm helping you fall asleep." He rolled over and faced her.  
  
"You could help me sleep is by going to sleep yourself and letting me know you're getting better, the only way to do that is to sleep as well."  
  
"Will you still be here when I wake up?" She pleaded with her eyes.  
  
"I don't know, maybe, maybe not. But if I'm not I promise to leave a note."  
  
It only took minutes for both exhausted teenagers to fall asleep in and in their sleep gravitate toward each other and embrace in their slumber. Half an hour later while doing a routine check on the hospital ward Madame Pomfrey found both in that same position. With Gabrielle under the covers enveloped in Harry's arms who lay atop the blankets.  
  
It was a rare sight indeed to witness but the old medi-witch smiled to herself and exited the room closing the door behind her and putting up a protective shield around it so no harm would come to its occupants.  
  
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When early evening came Gabrielle slowly awoke letting herself adjust before opening her eyes a crack to see that the room was dark and she lay up against something warm. Stretching her legs slightly trying not to move her upper body, which felt enveloped in a pair of arms she shifted a little onto her side. Her eyes went wide for a moment at the site before her.  
  
There breathing serenely and holding her in his arms was Harry Potter. His soft breathing could faintly be heard and the even movement of his chest rising and falling was evident to her. The blonde started to relax as she took in the situation and stared at the young man in front of her, mapping his features with her eyes.  
  
As she gazed at him she concluded that he was not handsome or devilishly good looking like she thought before, no not in this state, in this state he was beautiful. He looked so innocent and trouble free, or at least as innocent as Harry could ever look at this age. And if Gabrielle didn't know any better she'd say that the possibility of him being a darker toned male Veela was very likely if such a thing existed.  
  
She knew from the moment that she saw the magazine he was featured in that the dark haired boy really did belong among those pages. With his olive skin that stretched over nicely shaped and sculpted muscles, quite impressive muscles she added. Abs and chest that were to die for, legs to kill for, arms and back to do the most ridiculous things for, and the rest were too hard to explain. His strong jaw and high cheekbones. His finely shaped dark eyebrows that stood over almond shaped emerald eyes from which extended long dark eyelashes. His tall strong frame, and thick dark hair that reached the young man's broad shoulders, Harry was indeed every girl's fantasy compared to the lanky thirteen year old he had been a few years back. Yet he still never used his looks or his fame to get any special treatment, in a way Gabrielle wondered if this boy, no man was human. Perfection was not supposed to be possible there it was right in front of her eyes, the perfect man holding her in his arms.  
  
Lazily she ran a finger along his arm tracing a visible vein all that way up to his bicep where she examined the wolf tattoo on his arm. The wolf itself was larger than average size and she had her own suspicion of what it might be, the tattoo although a bit unnerving was nicely done and gave a mental image of great power. //A powerful animal representing a powerful person. How fitting.\\ she thought to herself and disregarding the illustrations of the screaming faces depicted in the smoke along the animals feet she kept tracing her his arm up to shoulder feeling the heated skin under her finger tips.  
  
It was horribly chilly in the infirmary even under her quilt and in Harry's arms but the young man despite being dressed sparsely remained hot to the touch, even in his sleep when people were said to lose much of their body heat, it was a strange but comforting feeling having her cool body against his heated one.  
  
In somewhat of a trans Gabrielle traced his face with her hand now feeling his cleanly shaven skin and marveling at how fetching the boy was. Sadly she thought about how he must be able to get any girl he wanted, in both the muggle and wizarding worlds. Why would he want her when he could have someone older and more experienced?  
  
The smell and feel of nighttime was evident to him as his mind thought it right to bring him back to consciousness. Harry stifled a yawn as he awoke to a feeling of content. //What could be greater than my dream?\\ he grumbled mentally after waking from a delightful dream. It unsettled him to have the same repeating dream for two nights in a row already though. Ever since he rescued young Gabrielle Delacour his dreams were filled of her. He always dreamt she stayed with him at night, in his arms and snuggled against his chest.  
  
This time she was running a hand over his arms and face as if tracing him for a mental picture. The feeling was so real that it surprised him when he felt fingers on his face. Running along his brow, over his nose, tracing his lips and cupping his cheek.  
  
//I must be dreaming.\\ he thought. //But I can't see the owner of these hands.\\ The Gryffindor dared not move just in case this really was real somehow but instead continued his normal breathing pattern and kept back a smile that threatened to push its way to the surface.  
  
For his efforts he was rewarded, the hands were still there mapping his face and running through his long hair.  
  
Gabrielle's clairvoyance wasn't the only thing that made her stand out but in this case it came in handy. Knowing he was waking even before his shuddering breath and the disturbance in his breathing pattern Gabrielle didn't stop what she was doing. He seemed to like it, she felt his arms tighten around her waist and smiled taking a risk and reaching over to plant a small kiss on is cheek.  
  
He didn't stir yet she could feel his pulse quicken as his heart beat faster against his chest. A little braver this time she ducked her head and pushed her lips to his. She felt his muscles flex and tighten in surprise but didn't move away, instead nipped at his bottom lip.  
  
Harry felt the pressure against his lips and realized it was too real to be a dream but it had to be one. He didn't know whether to do anything or just lay motionless hoping it would never stop. //If it's a dream then it wouldn't matter what I do, it always ends sooner or later.\\ he thought and started responding and opened his mouth slightly to slip his tongue through and trace it along the seem of her lips asking for entrance which he was granted. As his own tongue explored the girl's mouth he heard her moan and place a cool hand on his chest rubbing in circles.  
  
//Wait a minute!\\ Harry thought in surprise. //She never made a sound in my dreams.\\ Thinking back to earlier he recalled falling asleep in the hospital wing NEXT TO GABRIELLE!! //Oh god this is real.\\ he panicked and pulled back a little to meet half lidded slightly dazed blue/gray eyes staring back at him.  
  
"Gabrielle." He whispered.  
  
"Why'd you stop?" her concerned question followed, "You still don't want me do you?" she sounded defeated and rejected he noticed and shook his head.  
  
"I told you that I never said I didn't want you."  
  
"Prove it." She challenged him and met his eyes with her. //She has beautiful eyes, like the sky during midday, blue and a bit hazy with clouds.\\ he thought and without further ado he leaned forward kissing her like last time except this time with more fervor and supporting her head with his hand. The need for air soon became demanding and both drew apart breathing heavily.  
  
"Believe me now?" The Gryffindor panted combing back a few strands of her blonde hair behind her ear.  
  
"Yes I believe you Harry."  
  
"Good." He exclaimed and started getting up. "It's late I should be going, the Order meeting will be starting soon and Smoke needs to make an appearance."  
  
"Will you tell me about it later then?" she asked and through her quilt aside and getting up still a little shakily but not as much as earlier.  
  
"Of course but most likely tomorrow." He held out his hand to steady her and she took it leaning against him as he led her out the door. To his right Harry noticed light shining through the crack in the door to Sirius' hospital room.  
  
"Hey I want to go check on Padfoot before I bring you back to your room." Nodding her consent they went forward and entered where Harry noticed Remus helping Sirius up out of bed. They must have been leaving for the meeting he realized.  
  
"Padfoot how am I supposed to get you to the Northern tower like this without being seen?" Remus asked bewildered before noticing the two teens at the door.  
  
"Look who's woken up." The DADA teacher proclaimed. "It's about time. Harry can you get this great lug to the Order meeting while I go help young Miss Delacoure to her room? And don't even try to deny anything I know you know where the room is and I know what you've been doing since you left here." The werewolf said seeing the innocent look Harry put on which slipped away and the boy nodded.  
  
Asking everyone to stand back Harry stood up straight and took his lightening pendant in hand whispering "Transformatus." And a black cloud of smoke and soot engulfed him as he changed and transformed into the faceless man known as Smoke. As the cloud started to recede it revealed a ninja mage in full uniform and a shadow cast on his face.  
  
"Merlin!" Sirius murmured "try not to do that in front of me." As the younger man supported him around the waste and with his pendant transported them away leaving the lyncanthrope and Gabrielle to fend for themselves.  
  
"Well then shall we get going?" the man asked and held his hand out to her.  
  
  
  
Up in a large stone circular room in the northernmost tower in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where the members of the Order of the Phoenix were starting to gather a large cloud of Smoke started to issue and many of the members taken by surprise stepped back and drew their wands before remembering the warning about the new member.  
  
There in front of their eyes stood two men one covered in black taller than the other whom seemed weak but stood tall and remained head strong. They all watched as the mysterious Smoke led Sirius Black to a chair letting him sit before taking another near him.  
  
Shortly after both he and Sirius were seated Harry took a look at everyone in the room seeing familiar faces all around, some he knew before he started spying on them and others when he'd just started.  
  
Amongst the crowd that was made up of at least fifty people were mostly Aurors, Unspeakables, war tacticians, potion makers, herbology specialists, and many other experts from different fields that would be crucial in such a war.  
  
Of course the whole Weasley family was there, minus Ron and Ginny of course since they hadn't graduated yet. The there were the Hogwarts course teachers, minus Professor Trelawny, Professor Vector, Professor Sinistra, and of course Argus Filch whom was only the care taker.  
  
After a few moments of silence where the members of the Order stared at him Harry began to make idol chat with his godfather until Remus arrived and right behind him a slightly red faced and panting Hermione Granger whom looked around curiously before her eyes landed on him and grew as wide as saucers. It was quite obvious that the girl was nervous as Remus gently led her to the seat by him before sitting on the other side of Sirius.  
  
Hermione, now sitting between the ninja mage Smoke and Professor Snape was not feeling to comfortable and after a while edged more into the Potions Masters direction in fear of the faceless man talking idly with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. She had moved so far over that the poor girl was practically leaning against the former death eater who's expression only conveyed anger and annoyance before he barked at her.  
  
"Granger would you kindly sit upright instead of leaning on my shoulder. I am not a cushion just incase you didn't notice!"  
  
With a bewildered expression she uneasily gulped but nodded and obediently scooted over a little, just enough to get off of Snape but not enough to get out of what he liked to call his personal space.  
  
Fully annoyed now Snape's calculating gaze went from the brunette's nervous glances toward the ninja mage that she was seated next to and back to him. As discreetly as possibly she edged away from Smoke in hopes that her Potions Master wouldn't notice too much.  
  
//Now what comes of the brave little Gryffindor?\\ the former Death Eater thought to himself and rolled his eyes sighing. She would continue to lean towards him if he didn't do anything and introducing her to the mage wouldn't be such a good idea as he didn't know well either much less know his true loyalties.  
  
"Get up Granger." He ordered getting up from his own seat.  
  
Although confused she stood only to have the man sit down in the seat she just vacated and gestured to his own. She blushed slightly feeling like a ninny for not showing a backbone but took the proffered seat gratefully.  
  
Thank you Professor." She murmured and blushed at her own shyness at that particular moment.  
  
"Think nothing of it Ms. Granger."  
  
Hermione nodded but couldn't help smiling at her Potions Master. It seemed he was not at all uncaring and she silently had always known that beneath that wall of ice he stayed hidden behind there was a descent person underneath. Well.as descent a person as Severus Snape could get.  
  
Although the man did sound rather stressed he tried not to show any of it as he kept his back as rigid as a rod and his cold dark eyes roaming from face to face scrutinizing each one and sometimes even making fully trained Aurors squirm under his penetrating stare.  
  
Switching seats with Hermione wasn't completely for her comfort. Severus would never completely go out of his way to make people feel comfortable. Actually it was the exact opposite, he strived to make them fidget. Instead he wanted to try and listen in on the conversation Black, Lupin, and Smoke were currently holding. Straining his ears above the murmur that ran across the whole room due to the many voices that spoke Severus was only able to hear a select few words.  
  
"So," he heard Black say in an amused whisper. "How did things with Ms. 'I'm ready for anything so just throw it at me' go?" and next to him he heard Lupin laugh and Smoke cough slightly.  
  
"Gabrielle is fine. Although she was a little worried that I didn't want her or something I tried not to make the impression that she was a bit young carry over to loudly. But I think that by the time she's trained and we're ready to go the binding will have to take place. I've thought a lot about this and I figured it was a pretty good idea to stop things before they ever started."  
  
Confused Snape tried to place where he heard that voice before. He had listened to the ninja mage talking before the other night but this time it was more familiar. Perhaps he had talked to this person unmasked today and hadn't even realized it. //Now who did I talk to today that could be considered a suspect?\\ he wondered.  
  
//Well there was most of the staff but no one from the staff could be Smoke because they were all present at the time the ninja mage was out on his escapades. There were a few students. Weasley, Granger, but Granger is sitting right next to me and Smoke is obviously male. Hmmm.there was Malfoy but he's too much of a ninny to be able to pull anything like this off. Potter, Finnigan, Creevey, Crabbe.Wait a moment!!! POTTER!!!\\  
  
The Potions Masters eyes widened to the size of saucers by now and he nearly leapt up in his chair with his wand at ready to hex the ninja mage beside him into the next century when a better idea came to him. He wasn't really sure it was Potter anyways and who better to recognize his voice than one of his best friends Hermione Granger?  
  
"Granger?" he asked as politely as possible turning to the young woman whom was currently looking around the room like a twit in his opinion.  
  
"Yes Professor?" she jumped clearly startled to be disturbed by the man's voice so suddenly yet softly.  
  
Trying to suppress the role of his eyes the man smirked and asked his question. "Granger could you possibly lean over and tell me whose voice the ninja mage's resembles?"  
  
Feeling slightly bewildered by the man's strange request she complied by leaning over on the table resting her chin on her hand and moved as close to the figure in black as possible catching fragments of his conversation with Sirius and Remus.  
  
Sirius smirked at Smoke and chuckled lightly. "So I guess you'll be going through with it after all. I wonder if it's time to have a certain talk about the birds and the bees?" the man inquired and Hermione almost choked but managed to stay quiet enough to hear the figures response. She even vaguely wondered why Sirius was asking a fully-grown man, or what seemed like a fully-grown man if he knew about sexual intercourse.  
  
Coughing lightly into his closed fist with amusement Harry answered his godfather in mute laughter. "I think you about missed that boat mate."  
  
"No!" the other man gasped and she heard Remus laugh quietly slapping his friend on the shoulder. "By how long?" the darker haired man inquired.  
  
"About two years." Smoke answered and that was all it took for the lyncanthrope to break into a full round of giggles while his friends face was not only defeated but flaming red. "Damn" Sirius muttered followed by Remus' amused statement.  
  
"Oh Paddy it seems out dear Smoke is more like you than we thought."  
  
"Hey! I did not sleep around since I was fifteen!" the dog animagi grumbled giving Hermione the clue that Smoke was around the age of seventeen meaning he must be going to Hogwarts since his presence was known to mostly the United Kingdom.  
  
"No Padfoot you started when you were fourteen if I'm not mistaken." Her DADA teacher countered and Smoke's highly amused laugh followed.  
  
Hermione listened with half amusement and half curiosity but it wasn't until the ninja mage laughed did she recognize that unique voice and both her and Snape whom had been listening also soflty murmured in unison.  
  
"Harry."  
  
"Potter."  
  
"Meeting eyes with the former Death Eater they each nodded to affirm their suspicions and sat back in their chairs, but not without going unnoticed by Harry whom swiftly ended his conversation with Sirius and Remus hearing his name said and snapped his neck around so suddenly that each of them were afraid he would get whip lash.  
  
Now with the faceless man was no longer name less and turned to them whispering as menacingly as possible.  
  
"I am doing this to protect you so if you value your life I advise you to keep your mouths shut about this."  
  
That was all the confirmation they needed and Hermione finally understood why Harry had been so secretive since the beginning of their fifth year. Her was doing this to keep them all safe and she regretted all the hurtful accusations and words she had conveyed about him. She was just so desperate to find any kind of explanation and now that she had it she was fearful for her life.  
  
If anyone found out she even vaguely knew the ninja mage Smoke's true identity she would be hunted far and wide. She wouldn't give up the information willingly but through force she didn't know how long it would take her to break and without even thinking about it she launched herself at her long time friend.  
  
Harry easily caught her in his arms but couldn't help but let out a soft "Oomph" at the sudden pressure against his chest. He could hear Hermione pleading for his forgiveness over and over again while sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry. God I'm so sorry forever doubting you. I was scared, I didn't know what else to think and you were closing up, you wouldn't talk to me about anything anymore. I know how hard you're trying to protect all of us now. Please forgive me." She murmured into his chest and Harry was relieved she didn't use his name. It was bad enough everyone was staring at them and Snape was now glaring openly at him with a hate that he could only feel for Voldemort.  
  
"Herm you're drawing attention to us. I forgive you now please wipe your face and calm down I can't have anyone else figure it out now."  
  
Feeling as if he resented her still the girl was surprisingly tugged away by Snape who hissed sharply in her ear sitting her down, "Are you out of your mind? I don't like Potter but even I know that was a stupid move. You're just lucky Dumbledore isn't here yet otherwise the old man would have figured it all out by now."  
  
"I-I-I" the girl gasped for air between her sobs barely able to get a word in between and sighing heavily the man sat down next to her and nervously reached over with one of his pale hands and awkwardly patted her back while rolling his eyes. And as she started to calm down a bit due to his rubbing her back in circular motions Snape wondered if the war was actually making him soft.  
  
Just as Hermione was getting used to the hand on her back and cautiously leaned against the man's firm shoulder hoping that perhaps he would give her some kind of comfort she was largely mistaken as he pulled back completely and repeated.  
  
"I told you once Granger I am not your personal cushion. Now sit up and stop sniveling girl. Honestly you emotional Gryffindors." He sneered and turned back to the front of the room where the door opened and in stepped Albus Dumbledore his usual twinkle in his light blue eyes and a small smile on the old man's lips accenting some of his wrinkles.  
  
"Ah it is good to see that everyone is here." The old man clapped his hands once making a sweep around the room with his eyes and went to sit at the head of the table.  
  
"Now that I am here I would like to begin our meeting of The Order Of The Phoenix." With that the old man sent a series of golden sparks into the air from his wand and the meeting commenced. 


	5. Insanity

The Hero Hidden Beneath A Traitor's Clothing  
  
Summary: Voldemort is at the height of his power once more, terrorizing both the Muggle and Wizarding World's he is considered unstoppable and ruthless. There is only one person left who can truly defeat him, a boy that the world has set on a pedestal. In his seventh year the boy is now a man and single handedly taking on the dark forces but are the people truly grateful to this mysterious warrior, or will he have to depend on another girl several years younger than him and a complete stranger to believe in him.  
  
Rated: R (for adult content and some violence)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the talented Ms. Rowling does, and the WB has some rights to the series. I just write for the hell of it all, so don't sue. I don't have anything worth taking me to court over.  
  
Chapter 5: Insanity  
  
As soon as the Headmaster started the meeting his first order of business was to introduce the new members, or in Harry's case to introduce their new informant. When introduced Harry couldn't help but cringe at the array of skeptical and outraged comments. Some people had gone so far as to point their wands at him until Dumbledore calmed them enough to set them on the table.  
  
When Harry thought he was actually out of the blue someone had to ask him 'what exactly a ninja mage was and how he came to be one.' That frustrated him to no end and he sat groaned softly trying to protest to answering when he met equal gazes of curiosity and many were determined to probably tie him down and force it out of him.  
  
It was then that Harry realized he was in a trap. A very bad one in fact. There were more than fifty trained wizards and witches that were all more than competent than any Death Eater he had gone up against before and he feared that if he angered them then he would be bound and stunned before he could say "Transportus Point A" to get whisked away back to his room.  
  
//Right looks like I'm answering.\\ he gulped seeing Dumbledore urge him on.  
  
"Well seeing as you're all curious I might as well tell you since this won't really put anyone in danger." Harry took a deep breath and thought about a clever way to say things without revealing too much to put him in danger but revealing enough to satisfy their curiosity.  
  
"Well basically I came upon the idea of a ninja mage from a very old eastern book. It basically explained that ninja mages are warriors with a background of martial arts and other forms of self defense including offensive fighting technique whom possessive a magical potential of over a grade H that's two grades away from the highest yet its still not the highest since Merlin's magical grade was said to be off the charts. Anyways I'm getting off topic here. Mages are wizards or witches that have enough magical potential to combine magic with the physical and in retrospect to be able to complete any form of magic set in front of them. Its all a matter of understanding, reading, performing and using correct strategy to complete the work." He said hoping that was enough but Dumbledore seemed to have more questions.  
  
//Well I can't go to hell for this, it isn't exactly a lie though it isn't exactly the truth either.\\ Harry mused to himself waiting for the next question that surely enough followed his earlier answer and he was surprised how easy it was for him to lie. Lie's just seemed to slip off the tip of his tongue these days.  
  
"So you're saying that if there's understand and good strategy along with a high level of magical energy anyone can be a mage?" Harry realized the old bastard was egging him on milking him for all he was worth while seemingly looking innocent.  
  
"No that's not what I'm saying, what I'm saying is that you have to be determined enough to do it. Unlike all of you that are sitting on your arses screaming Voldemorts coming run for your lives! I chose to do something about it Dumbledore, I actually chose to stop being completely helpless; see what one human being can do all by his itty-bitty self? And all of you think that you don't matter a gram!" he hissed at them bitterly.  
  
"Unfortunately my boy some of us do not have the leisure of jumping around like kangaroos fighting off Death Eaters left and right." The old man chuckled at his own joke then continued. "You've told us what a ninja mage is now tell us how you became one, what's your magical grade then if you're able to become one so easily."  
  
//Well I didn't say that you have to be practically the magical messiah to become a ninja mage.\\ he thought to himself and rolled his eyes making another fib up out of nowhere.  
  
"I had teachers, both in the magical and muggle world who taught me about muggle weaponry and combat fighting. Alastor Moody as you know has helped me as well. The Others shall no be named. As for the rest I gathered from books, used reason, spied, and whatever else I needed. My magical grade if you don't mind I'd rather not discuss though." Harry said sharply indicating the time for questions was over and the time for the meeting to start was upon them already. All the while no one realized that when Harry spoke of the Others he actually meant a certain group of teachers not just random people who trained him to this level.  
  
The Headmaster leaned back in his chair and stroked his long beard with one hand while contemplating what he just heard. For Harry it was already giving away too much for comfort but for Dumbledore it was barely enough to cover the basics.  
  
"And why exactly do you wish to hold your magical grade from us?" the old man continued to pry but instead of sounding rude in everyone else's ears he came off like a curious child which Smoke ended up glowering at.  
  
"Albus, I think it might be in all our interests if we didn't know. But I believe we have important business to get to at this meeting and I for one want to win this war sooner or later!" a voice barked stunning practically everyone in the room.  
  
Harry stared wide eyed at the man who had just spoke, his jaw was hanging so far open at the moment he probably could have fit an entire baked potato in it.  
  
Never in a million years would Harry Potter have expected his most hated teacher, former Death Eater, the bane of his existence, and his father's past rival, Severus Snape to stand up for him. The young man stood stock still staring at the former Death Eater whom at the moment sported a stubborn expression mixed with the disgusted sneer that always seemed to grace his face.  
  
Faltering slightly as he was taken aback by the Potions Masters severity on the subject Dumbledore soon regained his senses and nodded shortly. It seemed that although the Slytherin didn't admit it, he somehow knew the ninja mage.  
  
"Of course, you are quite right Severus, I suppose we should carry on." The old man said before progressing with the rest of the conference.  
  
Severus Snape had absolutely no idea why he had just stood up for the ninja mage, for Potter no less! Either he had contracted a sever illness that demented the senses and befuddled ones ability to think clearly, or he was going soft in his old age.  
  
As Harry listened to the different sides of the war as each Order member added their own piece and a new fragment of information he couldn't help but feel like he was wasting his time. All of which they were still trying to figure out or track he had either already known months or weeks before hand or had absolutely no significance in the midst of things. All in all it was a complete bore as he leaned his chin on his elbow and listened to everyone's account of things.  
  
It seemed that each month the wizarding world was falling faster and deeper into a large black hole that centered on Voldemort and his dark army. The Ministry of magic was practically in shambles with Fudge still running things. The only reason he wasn't resigned from his position was due to the fact that everyone else feared to much for their lives to take it upon themselves, but Fudge simply could not understand such dangers and was currently being guarded by 50 of the best aurors in Britain 24 hours around the clock and 7 seven days a week.  
  
In Harry's opinion it was a major waste of time, money, and good aurors causing them to lose little by little to the Dark Lord.  
  
The chance to speak went around in a circle from person to person until it was finally Hermione's turn at which point Harry forced himself to listen when Dumbledore propelled a question at her seemingly out of nowhere much to the surprise of many at the meeting.  
  
"No Miss Granger I have been rather curious about this subject for quite a bit of time and seeing as you might be one of the only people that could answer it I'd like you to answer as truthfully as possible for this may mean a lot to our business here." The old man gently said and the brunette in question nervously nodded her head as all eyes turned to her giving her everyone's undivided attention.  
  
"Hermione, I understand that yourself and Harry Potter have been rather close friends from your first year here at Hogwarts am I correct?" Dumbledore sounded very much like an attorney prosecuting the poor girl and her eyes widened fearfully. Now knowing the truth about her friend she had to protect him but in the process seem sincere. The whole ordeal was causing her to freeze up and gulp, afraid that she may screw things up inevitably by exposing just a little more than necessary.  
  
Seeing her reluctance and panicky attitude Harry reached his hand under the table across Snape who seemed to twitch feeling him near and as inconspicuously as possible gently took her sweaty hand in his gloved one. The touch had made her jump as she hadn't expected it but feeling the gloves she realized it was Harry supporting her and met stretched her hand out farther to him so he wouldn't have to lean in as much. Now though their joined hands were resting on the lap of a very grouchy Head of Slytherin House whom sat fuming but didn't move.  
  
"Yes Professor Harry, and I along with Ron have been friends since first year." She answered finally finding the courage.  
  
"Good, good." The old wizard murmured before going on. "Well then, several students and teachers have noticed him acting quite peculiar since the beginning of his fifth year. He has been known to disappear, he has changed quite a bit over the space of these two years and his studies have improved greatly. We fear it very suspicious and are only looking out for Mr. Potter's safety if you know anything it would be greatly appreciated." Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled in their own mysterious way as he gazed imploringly at her.  
  
Harry silently glowered at the man squeezing Hermione's hand reassuringly as if trying to send over the appropriate answer to this question. He himself if asked that would have been greatly tempted to shout, //Care about me my arse! The day you start caring is the day Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon treat me better than Dudley who in turn will become my new best friend! Go wank yourself you pathetic old codger.\\ In his mind that was exactly what was being replayed over and over again at the moment.  
  
"Well of course he'd act differently." Hermione frowned at them all and put on her best impression of Mcgonagal looking like she was scolding little children. "He saw one of his school mates die that summer, he saw Voldemort resurrected! Why shouldn't he be affected? And then after that you still sent him to those muggle relatives that not only harbor a very strong case of hatred toward him but also abused and starved him?! And you expect him to be happy and dandy again!?" she nearly screamed herself hoarse and managed turning red in the face, red enough that she could have out a Weasley to shame.  
  
All around everyone sat quietly feeling guilty in their own but the girl was far from finished.  
  
"You expect him to live a stress free and happy life with people putting the weight of the world on his shoulders expecting him to defeat Voldemort while not even you yourself Professor Dumbledore can do it. You expect him to be all chipper with everyone watching him like a hawk? And I can't believe you don't expect him to be upset if he knows less about his past than a mere stranger does. Year after year you refuse him the truth and it hurts him! He's been lost for so long Professor he just wants to find a place where he belongs and you aren't helping matters any, none of you are, and I'll admit that I haven't helped either."  
  
By now Hermione had released his hand and stood up with tears rolling down her cheeks. That was probably the most caring thing anyone had ever said about him and Harry wasn't unaffected either. Leaning back in his chair he took in a shaky breath. It was only luck that she found out who Smoke really was because without that luck Harry Potter might have been the next suspect number one since Hermione didn't exactly put all her trust in him before either.  
  
Leaning over a little Snape leered at him and hissed close to his ear. "You are one lucky bastard you know that Potter?"  
  
"That I am." Harry answered softly. "That I am."  
  
"Sooner or later your luck will run out Potter." Harry's eyes widened and he turned his head slightly to the right and hissed back to seemingly no one.  
  
"Shut up! I don't need this from you, not right now at least so leave me be."  
  
Snape stared at him as if he had gone mad and the young Gryffindor didn't blame him. Talking to an invisible person could easily put him into St. Mungos, the insanity ward probably right next to the Longbottoms. Luckily Snape was the only one who heard.  
  
"Potter, are you sure all your marbles are in tact?" The man leaned in and whispered cautiously.  
  
"Don't worry I'm fine Professor." He quipped back still staring toward his invisible contact.  
  
Ever so slowly the figure Harry had been looking at started receding with a satisfied smirk on its face until it became transparent and melted into the stonewall disappearing until a later time.  
  
The meeting had gone off without another hitch after that. Everyone had thought best to leave both the ninja mage and Harry Potter unmentioned and barely even paid either him or Hermione any attention fearing they would be reprimanded like children again.  
  
While Harry had told them of the information he received everyone stared in awe at him. Some of what he said they simply wouldn't believe. It seemed so far fetched that the man was telling them of events that would occur weeks in advance when most of their information was almost as late as the birth of Merlin.  
  
"I'm telling you that the Death Eaters will attack heedless of how much you argue Mr. Weasley." Harry said in a strangled voice toward Bill Weasley who sat stunned but vehemently shook his head and refused to believe a word the mage said.  
  
"What proof do you have that they'll be attacking Gringotts? It's too heavily guarded and secure for them to even consider such a thing. Tell us where you get all this nonsense from?"  
  
Although Bill Weasley the eldest of the Weasley children did not realize it but that was nearly the last straw for Harry, no one would believe him and frankly he was getting sick of it.  
  
A loud echo resounded through the room and the sound of wood cracking met everyone's ears as Harry slammed a fist down on the table making a large crack in the hard wood.  
  
"You don't believe me? Fine then it doesn't matter! Lose this war, suffer, die, let others suffer and die but I won't. How do you think I always get to the fights so fast? I know things in advance and it isn't your place to ask me how I get my information or from where. So now if you'd excuse me it looks like I won't be coming back here since you all trust me as far as you could throw a Hippogriff."  
  
Despite the situation Sirius couldn't help but snort trying to muffle his laughter when a mental picture of someone like Bill Weasley trying to throw a Hippogriff over his shoulder. Particularly old Buckbeak whom he had returned to Hagrid just last year after finding him a little too much of a burden. To say the least the half-giant had been ecstatic when he caught sight of the Hippogriff and nearly broke down into a loud wave of tears. It was a tender site indeed.  
  
It had been an hour since Harry with a burst of anger and a tremendous amount of energy he thought he wasted tearing the ruins of Beaxbatons away did he rip through the anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards on Howarts and teleport himself to his room in Gryffindor Tower where instead of just shredding his uniform he used his pendant to transform back. From there he quickly raced down to the Hospital Wing carefully avoiding everyone in his way until he reached the room Gabrielle stayed in.  
  
It seemed for privacy Madame Pomfrey had given her a separate room instead of a curtained away bed. It had taken him a few minutes to find it but when he reached the room opening it a little and peeking in to make sure no one else was present he found Gabrielle sitting up right in a chair in front of a small mirror above a sink that stood beside her bed. She was trying to groom her hair as best she could without a brush and only her hands, the only problem was that her hair was still matted due to the fact that she hadn't had a shower since the day her school collapsed. At least they had been able to get all the dirt and blood out of it.  
  
'Knock, knock, knock.' He tapped the door lightly with his knuckles waiting for her to acknowledge him, which she did, although with a bit of a jump as she was surprised by the disturbance.  
  
Turning to face him her face broke into a smile and she shifted in her chair so she was now facing the door and invited the Gryffindor in.  
  
"So?" she asked slightly worried. "How'd the meeting go?"  
  
"Not to well." He hesitated looking around a little awkwardly before stiffly moving over to the bed and sitting down by her chair and explained everything that had gone on in a sullen tone showing his annoyance and despair.  
  
"I don't even understand." He complained quietly. "I don't understand how I'm building power so fast, I don't understand how I'm able to do things others can't." he trailed off as if lost in a memory, his bright green eyes glazed over and sat staring at her for moments before shaking his head and continuing now even quieter than before.  
  
//He's so quiet\\ the blonde thought sympathetically. //Almost as if he's afraid to raise the dead.\\  
  
Little did she know how right she was in her one thought Gabrielle got up feeling stronger now and sat by him nudging him with her forehead against his shoulder before sitting up straight and tugging at him.  
  
"What is it Gabby?"  
  
"Lean against me." She told him with a commanding tone that he didn't even try to argue with and instead lightly leaned against her chest, his ear pressed against the spot above her heart where he could hear its rhythmic thump. Carefully Gabrielle leaned back bringing him with her and let him lean his head against her just like her sister would to her.  
  
"Tell me, tell me what's wrong Harry." But he didn't answer; he just stared at the corner of the room by the basin Gabrielle had been sitting in front of earlier. He was gazing so fixedly at that spot that the blonde could almost believe there was something there that she couldn't see. But what?  
  
"Harry." she whispered trying to get him to look at her or offer some sort of response. "Harry, you're scaring me." She said and her voice shook when she noticed his lips moving and forming words but never speaking them. Then finally she grew impatient and snapped. "Harry!"  
  
"What!?" he half snapped back startled recovering from his daze and apologized quietly for scaring her like that.  
  
"It's fine, but what were you looking at?"  
  
"No more questions." The Gryffindor begged and buried his face in her hair feeling comfortable beyond belief. Being embraced this way was soothing and something rare altogether. Of course there have been times where Hermione had forgotten completely of her suspicions when he walked by miserably and was immediately drawn into one of her warm hugs but that wasn't what he was feeling. Hermione was almost like a sister even with all the distrust that had gone on between them. And even the lovers he'd shared his bed with didn't give him this amount of tranquility.  
  
"I just want to rest for now." He murmured yawning and hugged her around the waist still using her chest as a pillow and nodded off into deep sleep.  
  
"Of course Harry." She whispered so softly that she wasn't sure she had even uttered a sound herself. Planting a kiss on his cheek she stroked his smooth hair closing her own eyes and letting slumber overtake her and leaving all her worries behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm telling you that there's something wrong with him! I know you're blinded by the fact that your perfect godson is an angel but haven't you ever seen him act a little strange?!" The tallest of the three men standing in an empty hallway yelled at his arch nemesis.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about Snape! Harry is perfectly fine! And I'd appreciate it if you keep your hooked nose out of it." Sirius Black yelled on the verge of leaping on the other man and most likely choking him to death. And indeed that's what he would have done if Remus wasn't holding him back.  
  
"Sirius, Severus, calm down please and we might be able to talk like civilized people." The calmest of the three said gently but firmly enough to get his point across.  
  
"But Moony," the ex-convict whined. "He thinks Harry belongs in a loony farm."  
  
"Personally I believe you belong in a loony farm as well Black." The Slytherin sneered and rolled his eyes as Remus once again had to restrain his friend form leaping on him. As the lyncanthrope tried to calm and restrain the animagi they suddenly heard a hushed voice down the corridor and quiet footsteps.  
  
Curious to find out whom it was Snape pulled all three of them into an alcove behind a large tapestry depicting a hunting scene.  
  
"What are you doing?" Sirius hissed obviously not hearing the noise down the hall and immediately having Remus clamp a hand over his mouth and shush him.  
  
When the person got closer it became apparent it was a male and it almost seemed like he was talking to himself. They all listened closer as the person approached and managed to make out a few sentences.  
  
"But honestly dad how am I supposed to bewitch a time turner to take me back almost about 20 years?! And since when did you become an expert in it?" There was a pause where only footsteps could be heard getting closer to each other and by then all three confirmed that who ever this young man was, he needed proper treatment right away.  
  
"Sounds like a bit of a psycho doesn't he? Talking to his dad when there's no one there." Sirius whispered and all three momentarily forgot their argument and nodded in agreement listening as the person went on.  
  
"Really? How did you and Sirius get a time turner and why? I mean saving mum's cat from being eaten by one of Hagrids pets is a bit extreme isn't it? You could have just gotten her another cat." The young man again said and in that instant Sirius and Remus both stared wide-eyed at each other mouthing //Harry\\ with astonishment.  
  
"Potter?" Snape asked in a hushed whisper and they both nodded. "I told you he belonged in the insanity ward."  
  
"No." Remus said quietly as if thinking about it. "We never told him any of that and only Sirius and myself know about that happening. Don't get me wrong, it really is strange to hear him talking about things he should know but also to himself but I actually think someone is there."  
  
"Have you gone insane to Lupin? Am I the only one who has a grain of sanity left? The boy could have gotten the information from a different source you never know, especially with his resources." Snape said meaning the fact that he knew too much from an unknown source.  
  
But this time it was Sirius who had looked pensive and made them quiet down so he could here what else his godson was saying.  
  
"Dad you and I both know that I'm not going to go ask the Others for assistance. Salazar already bugs the hell out of me especially when he showed at the meeting and Snape heard me talking to him. Do you know how much trouble I'll be in if someone finds out? They'll all think I'm a dark wizard and they'll throw me right into Azkaban without question."  
  
"He's mad." Snape said with a huff and clenched his fist peaking out the tapestry to see Harry walking down closer to them.  
  
"No, I really think there's someone there, more importantly I think James really is there in some essence, maybe in spirit." Remus told them staring almost willing his eyes to see whatever was there.  
  
"Lupin your one dog biscuit short of a whole bowl." The greasy haired Potions master sneered and was elbowed abruptly in the ribs by Sirius who was trying to catch more of what Harry was saying.  
  
"Severus." Remus snapped clearly annoyed. "I'm guessing you weren't paying to much attention to his words. Remember he said if anyone found out he was talking to imaginary people that he would be thrown into Azkaban for practicing the dark arts?" A short nod from the other man signaled that he had heard.  
  
"Well I bet you that if Sirius changed into Padfoot and walked up there he'd feel something, like a cold rush around him." Getting blank looks from the other two men he continued explaining. "Dogs and cats can often sense spirits and other worldly beings before humans can. And I'm willing to bet that our old Prongs has come for a visit." He whispered quite excited now and just as a look of awe passed by Sirius' face he transformed in a flash and ran out of their hiding place straight at his godson before either men could hold him back.  
  
"So you're telling me he can see and speak with the dead?" Snape had a look of unbelieving on his face but the lyncanthrope nodded watching his friend silently.  
  
Hearing the padding of a dog's paws hitting the stone floor and the slight panting Harry looked up and nearly attacked in surprise when me caught sight of Padfoot racing to him and making an abrupt half right by his feet.  
  
"Sirius?" he asked uncertainly. "What the hell are you doing here and why are you whining, why don't you just change back and tell me what's the matter?"  
  
It seemed Remus had been right all along as soon as he had gotten nearer Sirius had felt that cold rush like a chilly wind sweeping across him and the hair at the back of his neck prickled. The dog inside him sensed this and didn't like it at all as he started whining and fighting his instincts to run away.  
  
There was no doubt in the animagi's mind that his old friend James was there at that very moment and with a 'pop' he changed back and faced his godson.  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
Looking around but only finding the nearly transparent figure standing near him and his godfather in front of him who surely couldn't see the figure he shrugged playing innocent.  
  
"Where's who Siri?"  
  
"You know better than that Harry," he nearly growled and looked to the spot where he had seen the young man facing while talking to the unseen spirit. "I heard you talking." He stated flatly. "James is here isn't he? I felt him as Padfoot." Seeing that the young man was about to protest he begged him with his eyes to tell him his friend was there.  
  
"Yes." Harry admitted closing his eyes in a defeated manner. He was letting things out to quickly. He wasn't being careful at all anymore.  
  
Maybe it was the fact that he felt all was a lost cause and he started giving up in a way. It had only been a week since he was found to be the mage Smoke by several people and now something that could be fatal to not only him but also others around him had come into the clearing. He was thankful though that it was only Sirius that knew, at least he thought it was only Sirius but he didn't even know where the man came from much less if he was alone. At that moment Harry would have given anything for the ring he had given to Gabrielle, at least then he would have seen the track prints.  
  
"God Harry." His godfather nearly choked. "Why didn't you tell me? Where is he? What's he saying? How come you can see spirits?" the man was absolutely bursting with curiosity and the young Gryffindor was being flooded by questions that he couldn't and wouldn't even if he was permitted to answer.  
  
"I'm sorry Siri, I hope you'll forgive me." He whispered and raised his wand pointing it directly at his godfather whom had a very bewildered expression glued to his face.  
  
"Obli--" he started to say the incantation for the a rather strong memory charm when he was stopped by another two voices crying out  
  
"WAIT!!!" It was Remus and Snape. The world must have been ending to see Snape with the two Gryffindors, hiding out together no less and standing up for his godfather. "Harry don't! He deserves to know!" Remus cried.  
  
//Great!\\ he thought //Lets all have a party and invite the Dementors while we're at it.\\  
  
"I should go, your mother might have some information about Voldemort by now." The figure next to him said brushing a strand of unruly black hair from his eyes and looking straight at his with his blue eyes, framed by the familiar thick-rimmed black glasses that used to perch Harry's nose as well.  
  
"No, stay just a little longer." He whispered looking back sadly at his godfather and put down his wand seeing the desperate look the man was giving him. "I think that some friends have missed you and I'm sure it would put this particular one at ease to hear a few choice words from you."  
  
Reluctantly the figure nodded and with a heavy sigh Harry led them all to an empty classroom deep inside the abandoned part of the castle where hardly anyone went anymore.  
  
Neither of them just happened to notice a solitary figure watching them from around the corner and as soon as they were out of site the figure nodded to itself and left.  
  
  
  
*************************************AUTHOR'S NOTE*********************************  
  
Hello all! Well I've finally updated and I hope you like this chapter. For some reason I fear I am moving to fast and I'm leaving you in the dark around a few things so if you have any complaints please feel free to express them. I hope you have something good to say about the story too.  
  
REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!! 


	6. Blood Brothers

The Hero Hidden Beneath A Traitor's Clothing  
  
Summary: Voldemort is at the height of his power once more, terrorizing both the Muggle and Wizarding World's he is considered unstoppable and ruthless. There is only one person left who can truly defeat him, a boy that the world has set on a pedestal. In his seventh year the boy is now a man and single handedly taking on the dark forces but are the people truly grateful to this mysterious warrior, or will he have to depend on another girl several years younger than him and a complete stranger to believe in him.  
  
Rated: R (for adult content and some violence)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the talented Ms. Rowling does, and the WB has some rights to the series. I just write for the hell of it all, so don't sue. I don't have anything worth taking me to court over.  
  
Chapter 6: Blood Brothers  
  
"So where is he?" Sirius asked anxiously looking around hoping to see his old friend with his own eyes.  
  
While the three Gryffindors had each sat down on the floor Snape had seen it more fit to transfigure a quill he carried in his pocket into a chair and the other three rolled their eyes in semi amusement and semi annoyance. Of course the member that only Harry could see at the time sat down as well but hovered a few inches above the ground smirking at his son who sat uncomfortably on the hard floor.  
  
"Before I tell you anymore, each of you have to promise me that not a word of this is to leave this room or your mouths. Got it?"  
  
His godfather and his DADA teacher agreed without hesitation, even offering to swear on their own blood if necessary. Deeming it unnecessary Harry expressed his trust for them by explaining such a thing wasn't required.  
  
Although Snape was a different case. He sat there pondering it for quite a while and Harry let him, it really didn't matter. If Snape didn't agree then he would put a strong memory charm on him, if he did which Harry believed would be the case then there need not be another thought on the subject.  
  
His Potions Master may have been a greasy git but at least the young Gryffindor knew he was a greasy git who kept his word.  
  
"And what would happen if I did happen to slip this little tid-bit of information to someone, like oh say the Headmaster?" he asked looking down on Harry with a devious smirk on his face and a quirked eyebrow. But Harry was unimpressed and unmoved by his antics.  
  
"Can it Professor you and I both know you wouldn't. After all you did defend me at that Order Meeting and I highly doubt you want to repay your debt to my father by signing my death warrant with your big mouth." The younger man smirked back. After all Snape wasn't the only one who could play the Slytherin games.  
  
Grumbling to himself Snape agreed to stay quiet around others but he wanted answers to some questions in return. And Harry feeling it was safe to deem him with those answers agreed albeit grudgingly.  
  
By now Sirius was bouncing up and down with excitement and kept repeating like an eager three-year-old. "Where is he?" over and over again.  
  
"Calm down he's right here." Harry pointed to the spot next to him where the spirit of his father floated cross-legged a few inches off the ground. Everyone else saw thin air but still believed.  
  
"Okay what do you guys want to know?" he asked glancing at each of them just in time to see Snape open his mouth as if to speak when Sirius interrupted him sharply.  
  
"He can hear and see us right?" Harry confirmed that it was true.  
  
"James." Sirius started to say a little hesitantly feeling ridiculous talking to thin air while also feeling hopeful for this chance to get to apologize.  
  
"Wait," Harry said holding up his hand and turned his head so he could talk to the man they couldn't see. They heard him speak although not quite understanding what was going on it worried them.  
  
"I know its dangerous and energy consuming but I have to do this for them. Seeing you would put so much joy to them, I'm doing it with or without your permission.  
  
Although no one else heard the retaliating answer the younger man of the four did.  
  
"No! Harry James Potter, you remember what happened last time! You were practically bedridden for a week, your only lucky it was over the summer!" The transparent figure of James Potter scowled in his own stubborn way. "Not to mention that your mother would kill me if I let you, you know she already disapproves of you going to the past well don't bring on another argument."  
  
"Dad," The boy whined. "I can handle it, plus it only had a bad effect on me because that was the first time I ever tried to make you visible and I had little power at the time. I could do it for up to an hour without feeling ill effects--" He trailed off realizing he shouldn't have said that.  
  
"Oops.you didn't hear that." He murmured sheepishly receiving an angry expression from his father.  
  
"Harry." James almost growled. "Have you been practicing with random spirits without the Others knowing? You're lucky they haven't found out young man because if they do it's the death of you and me both bucko!"  
  
Chuckling lightly he shook his head. "Yeah, yeah they can't touch me or you. You're already dead sorry to mention that and I'm going to control them one day!" He said in false good happiness.  
  
"If you live long enough." The other man grumbled sadly getting a far away look in his eyes and his son had gathered that he already had been thinking of the dangers he would be facing. A long silence permeated the room and Harry figured that they better get on with what they were originally there for.  
  
"Right then lets do this." He said softly and took a deep breath before lying down. The three older men that were very much alive and waiting curiously for him to do whatever he was about to do watched him with perplexed expressions as the young Gryffindor shut his eyes.  
  
Severus watched the young man through his onyx colored eyes perplexedly. The boy seemed so innocent now; it looked like he was sleeping. His chest moving up and down with each breath and his hair falling back away from his face and rippling on the stone floor.  
  
It was true he had once been fascinated even enthralled with the ninja mage Smoke. Curious as to who he may be, why he hid himself, what his purpose in the war was and most of all why he chose to take down numerous Death Eaters all on his own. The man was a clever assassin, he seemed to have all the traits of a Slytherin, cunning, sly, dark, mysterious, and some part of him was obviously evil.  
  
To find out that that man was Harry Potter had been more than a shock. Once he had found out just a mere week ago that fascination had gone from shock to momentary denial to bewilderment and lastly to understanding. Despite what people thought he was not as heartless or as blind in people's emotions as he was thought to be. He very well understood the boy's need to fight, to get revenge, and to end this war.  
  
But that's not the reason why his emotions had never gone to hate for the boy. No, he didn't hate Harry. When the boy was younger he hated that face, his father's face. The only difference was the softer curve of the jaw and the way his chin seemed a bit more pointed, that was Lily's. The eye's, those green emeralds that shone brighter than the sun when joy washed over his face were much like the boy's redheaded mother's did. The same determined sparkle would enter them when he would set forth a task, and the same dulled reflection would pull over them when there was only misery to behold.  
  
Everything else was Potters though and Severus would hate the boy without even realizing why sometimes. His anger would mount when he stared at him, stared at the face of his rival. But when those eyes met his that hate melted and ebbed away to leave emptiness. The green eyes that used to look upon him with friendship so long ago that he nearly forgotten what friendship really was. Sometimes he would forget the face that stared at him with that compassion and the boy that should have been his did nothing to remind him of it.  
  
The unruly black hair, those thick rimmed glasses, his tendency to get into trouble and his fascination with new and interesting things. It was all James, down to the very last count. Except for the boy's manner. Growing up with those magic hating muggles didn't serve to give him as much confidence as his father had and the boy tended to keep to himself or to a small crowd. He didn't seek fame no matter how many times Severus taunted him about it, perhaps he taunted him of his father because he wanted to forget about the young Gryffindor's mother. Each and every picture of her face that entered his mind brought waves of guilt, guilt that he had done nothing more than stand back when he knew her death was upon her like vultures upon rotting flesh.  
  
Then after his fourth year the boy began to change, not noticeably but if you rarely looked at him then you would have seen that change. Now he didn't have to hate that blasted face again, Potter's face, he could hate the long tamed hair, he could hate the skin that had become tanned, the broadening of the boy's shoulders, his face, it was Black's face now. He could hate the boy again because now he reminded him of another rival. But why was it Black's face? That question disturbed him more than his dreams depicting his past wrongs in the service of the Dark Lord.  
  
Everything about the boy was wrong now. His body shape, voice, face, scent, hair, study habits, grades, and his distance from everyone else. Different as all that may be the change was still welcome, he didn't want the cruel reminder of whom's son Harry really was. And now he noticed the hair wasn't even a pure raven color any more, it had a dark brown tint to it now. But those bright green eyes stayed the same; they would always stay the same he realized. The way he flew didn't even remind him of James anymore, the boy had acquired his own unique talent that distinguished him from others and it stood out like black hair amongst the Weasley family. And now he couldn't hate him anymore, he had no reason other than the fact that the boy was still Potter's son yet he looked like Black.  
  
Of course the older professors had declared that he looked remarkably like Tom Riddle had in his younger days but not as slim any longer Severus could not compare without seeing the younger Riddle. However if given the chance to see the Dark Lord in his youth the Potions Master wouldn't give it a second thought before he disagreed with Professors whether their accusations were true or not. His mind was made up that either way no one but Potter or Black lived on that boy's face no matter who he looked like simply because his mind would never loose grips with his loathing for the two.  
  
Yet he was evermore thankful for the fact that the boy didn't look like Lupin, chances would be that he would murder the young Gryffindor in his sleep if such a thing occurred.  
  
Severus must have been lost in his thoughts for so long that he didn't notice much happening until Harry started slowly fading from his position on the floor and the gasps coming from Lupin and Black alerted him to the materialization of their best friend, James Potter.  
  
The very first thing he was about to do was run to his godson upon seeing him becoming more and more transparent. Sirius had kept a good eye on him to make sure nothing went wrong with whatever he was doing and had nearly leapt out of his own skin when Remus pointed a shaky finger to the spot beside the young Gryffindor where something shimmered and rippled the air.  
  
A faint color began to form and the outline of a man took shape. Slowly but surely they could make out dark unruly hair and sparking blue eyes behind thick-rimmed glasses. The man stood there and remained smiling all through the procedure until he was nearly solid and the Sirius' godson nearly invisible. Only a thin outline and the shimmer or air could prove the young man was still lying on the floor.  
  
"James." Came the raspy whisper from the escaped convict as his eyes misted with unshed tears clouding his sight. Sirius couldn't believe it. There was his friend, after so many years of wishing to see his best friend it had finally come true.  
  
"Sirius, it's good to see you mate, I've wanted to say this for a while now that I'm glad that someone's there for Harry, I wish you could have been there from the start but it wasn't your fault you weren't, I know you don't think that you're doing much but you really are, you saved him in a way and he saved you in return." The man whispered almost afraid that if he spoke to loudly he would frighten them.  
  
"And you Remus, I'm glad you've gotten the DADA position again, I've wanted to thank you as well for teaching Harry the Patronus and for being so understanding with him." Then finally he turned to the last man that sat brooding in his chair.  
  
"Severus," he let the name echo soundlessly then continued with what he was about to say. "Thank you for looking out for my son when you clearly didn't have to. You probably don't think that he likes you but he holds a deep respect for your authority as do I."  
  
Hearing his name the potions master had been brought completely out of his daze and now he took in the features he had admired for so long. Potter, it was really Potter not the son but this time the father. The father that he hated for a wrong that he himself committed. He hadn't changed in appearance at all but his manner had, he was depressed, but then again who wouldn't be in his situation. Finally he shook his head trying to get all thoughts of the man out of his head.  
  
All three nodded afraid to utter a word, Sirius and Remus were paler than usual and had tears streaming down their faces gazing up at their friend.  
  
It was Sirius who finally broke the silence. "God Prongs it's so good to see you, you have no idea how much we've missed you." He said using the childhood nickname they had called the man.  
  
"Oh but I do Padfoot, I know. I've watched you all for twenty years without being able to interfere. If I were able to break down then I would have when I saw you being carted away to Azkaban. And Moony, I watched your transformations ever since I died. The wolf felt me near but I couldn't do anything, at first Moony was so docile and calm but later on the frustration of not being able to see me grew on you and you became more vicious in your wolf form but I still couldn't do a thing short of watching.  
  
James smiled sadly at his friends. They didn't deserve the hardships that life thrust upon them, not even Snape deserved his hardships. They were all innocents in this game especially his son who had been given a gift that would eat away at his body and mind unless they found some way to lessen the pressure on him.  
  
All were silent again and James couldn't help but feel they were wasting time like this.  
  
"He looks like you, you know." He stated more than asked while facing his best friend that gesturing to the spot where Harry's transparent form lay.  
  
"But why?" the other man asked incredulously followed by Remus' opinion.  
  
"Is it because of his scar? I mean the connection he has with Voldemort?"  
  
"Don't be absurd Lupin, if it was because of the connection then he would look exactly like Riddle instead of Black." They heard Snape hiss the obvious answer.  
  
"Yes," James said, "That's true but they still want to know why." His eyes lowered to his son's prone body on the floor and he stroked a few transparent locks behind his ear. Although the others couldn't see Harry he still could and took comfort in the fact that Harry cared enough for him and his friends to give him this one last meeting.  
  
"Then why Potter? I'm sure we'd all like to know." The potions master quipped back causing Sirius to nearly jump him for his snide tone.  
  
"Shut up and listen Snape we don't need any of your sarcastic attitude nor do we need you stating the obvious." Stunned as he was the taller man scowled ready to fight back when the nearly solid form of James Potter stepped between them with an angry glare on his face.  
  
"Enough." Even in his death James Potter still had that unique ability to make a simple whisper echo louder than the loudest scream and penetrate the thickest surface at the same time.  
  
"Sirius, you remember what we did in our sixth year don't you?" James inquired looking piercingly at his friend, seeing the man come to the realization James decided to inform the other two of what was going on and recited a few practiced lines.  
  
"Like the wind blowing from two directions Like the water mixing from two streams Separate yet together Brother of mine not by essence but by love, Find a way to fuse our souls into one. My blood is your blood, My son is your son, My wife your sister, My friends yours, Minds connected, Spirits intertwined, Trust is a beacon for our friendship, Love for our connection, Raise your head against the wind as we run together, A fish in the air and a bird in the water We do the impossible and become blood brothers. Tell your stories and I'll tell mine, When the hammer falls you have what is mine, I have what is yours, Protect willingly as said the design Protect you of mine."  
  
After the first two lines Sirius had gone into a daze, a hypnosis almost and started reciting along with the other man remembering the lines as if they were a code imprinted on the back of his eyelids.  
  
"Blood brothers?" both Snape and Lupin spoke in a surprised unison once the chant was completed.  
  
"My blood is your blood, my son is your son." Remus whispered catching on to what was going on.  
  
"So you're telling me that through your connection what is yours became Sirius' after you died?" The lyncanthrope tried to clarify it as best as possible while mulling over a dozen questions in his mind.  
  
"Exactly." James answered. "We were of course sixteen when we did this thinking that being blood brothers was the coolest thing, it turns out that in a way it had its benefits." He gestured to the spot where his son was still feeding him energy enough to stay solid.  
  
"I have to go soon. I don't know how long Harry can hold out, and the longer he does the worse it gets." The spirit sighed mournfully and was met with three curious gazes at which point he started to explain what was going on.  
  
"Being a necromancer means that he has the power of the dead, living, and the in between. He can borrow this power any time he needs it yet he chooses not to because it feeds him extra magic all the time. If he loses a great quantity the realms feed him double the amount he lost and very quickly causing a strain on his body and mind. That power will soon eat him away if he doesn't share it with someone. That's why he's been letting his defenses down lately. That and the fact that Salazar visits him in his sleep where his mind is most vulnerable and plants negative feelings in his mind." The man's usually sparkling blue eyes became dull and lifeless once more as he shook his head.  
  
"BUT!.but." Sirius began looking frantically at James. "Can't we do something!?" his voice was panicked and hoarse as he jumped up and looked at the spot where his godson was supposed to be at.  
  
"He needs to share that power, once he does they can't touch him because part of a regular magical being will be a piece of him. He won't be a pure necromancer anymore. I suggest you hurry the binding up Sirius, get him to see reason and Lily and I will hold Salazar off as long as possible. You have to help him!" he cried as he slowly started to fade away guessing that his time was up he said a quick faire well.  
  
"It was good to see all of you. Padfoot, Moony you'll always be my best friends. And Severus, thank you for looking out for Harry. And remember I will always be watching."  
  
"James!" Sirius ran forward wanting to stop the other man from leaving and lunged at the fading figure only resulting in him passing right through the spirit and onto his now solid godson. "Good bye James old mate." He whispered rolling off the young man he landed on once a painful groan was emitted from him.  
  
"Sorry Harry, you okay kiddo?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah." The younger man groaned again fighting off an oncoming headache. "Feel like I've been run over by a truck mate." He laughed dryly and was greeted by a chuckle from his DADA Professor.  
  
"Not quite, it was more like you were run over by a rampaging godfather." He said resulting in a smack on the arm from the dog animagi who sat on the floor beside Harry who was currently massaging his scalp and letting his hair out of the ponytail it was in.  
  
Nobody had noticed until now that the young man's hair had finished it's transformation and turned a rich brown color, still straight and thick but now much more sleek much like the man's sitting next to him.  
  
"You're hair." Remus gasped being the first to notice and said something in a very low voice that Harry was barely able to catch.  
  
"It's done then, Sirius has a son and Harry has a father." Beside him Snape nodded chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully.  
  
"Let's just hope they both live long enough to enjoy it." The Potions Master said quietly staring off into space with the same sad look that he had on earlier.  
  
**********************************AUTHOR'S NOTE************************************  
  
Finally!! Finished it!! Yes it was all those prompting reviews that helped me keep writing. If I had more I'd be more enthusiastic of course. Is everyone following along here or are you lost? If so let me know and I shall try and fix things as best as possible.  
  
Don't you guys hate the spell check? That's the worst part of writing! The typos, mistakes, and checking them over with that dreaded spell check!!! ARGGGHH I hate it!! (Don't mind me, just blowing off some steam.)  
  
Hope you liked the chapter! READ AND REVIEW!!!!! (Now if only I can finish chapter 10 on child of darkness, child of light. Then I'd be a happy camper.) 


	7. Color Of Thy Veins

The Hero Hidden Beneath A Traitor's Clothing  
  
Summary: Voldemort is at the height of his power once more, terrorizing both the Muggle and Wizarding World's he is considered unstoppable and ruthless. There is only one person left who can truly defeat him, a boy that the world has set on a pedestal. In his seventh year the boy is now a man and single handedly taking on the dark forces but are the people truly grateful to this mysterious warrior, or will he have to depend on another girl several years younger than him and a complete stranger to believe in him.  
  
Rated: R (for adult content and some violence)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the talented Ms. Rowling does, and the WB has some rights to the series. I just write for the hell of it all, so don't sue. I don't have anything worth taking me to court over.  
  
Chapter 7: Color Of Thy Veins  
  
"It's done then, Sirius has a son and Harry has a father." Remus said and beside him Snape nodded chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully.  
  
"Let's just hope they both live long enough to enjoy it." The Potions Master said quietly staring at the two nearly identical men sitting on the floor.  
  
Although his words were quiet the room was empty and echoed carrying his last statement over to the two and Sirius quickly picked up on it dragging Harry to his feet.  
  
"Remus go find Gabrielle, this can't wait any longer."  
  
"NO! Sirius I said I wouldn't do it until it was absolutely necessary and unless she was fully trained but she's far from it! She can barely move I started training three days ago remember?!" Harry whole-heartedly protested and loosened his godfather's grip on his arm.  
  
"It is necessary, I won't lose you like I lost James. I won't do it." Tears started gathering in his eyes and the shock of seeing his best friend again finally settled in and registered in his mind. After years of Azkaban and being on the run emotions and feelings sometimes would not break through until several minutes passed. Loneliness during those years taught Sirius to barricade his mind against them and such a habit was hard to break. The room grew quiet and he let silent tears keep coming.  
  
It seemed endless, and he wanted to bawl, to beat his fists against the ground and sob like a child but it would not come. Instead he sank down to the floor and lay down letting an emotional slide gently overcome him instead of break through in waves.  
  
It was at that time that no one really knew what to do or say. Snape really knew none of them and couldn't care less if their precious feeling were hurt. Remus was in quite the same shock his friend was in and was battling his own emotions. And Harry, Harry was in denial about his possible downfall. He couldn't let some little thing like power corrupt him, and he couldn't let love, something he never had as far as he could remember save him. Especially a love that was quite false. He didn't even know Gabrielle, and she didn't him, so how could they possibly care for each other.  
  
Or could they grow to feel for each other? The young man snorted at that thought and shook his head. No one could love him but his parents, or perhaps even Sirius. But then again Sirius was his father now, or was he always in a way another father?  
  
No one was really clear on the facts of Necromancy, not even the spirits themselves or the Necromancers. But when a Necromancer lent a spirit part of his life force he would in a way die but still be present though immobile due to the amount of energy he lent and lost in the process. At that moment he of course felt a tad weak but in a matter of hours he'd have a headache the size of Hogwarts when the Dimensions would supply him with more than he could possibly handle.  
  
"Come on Padfoot, you're not getting rid of me that easily, I'm the-boy-who- lived remember? I won't let something like death separate us. " the young man chuckled dryly not quite believing himself lately. If his father was right then that meant Salazar had a lot to do with it and the next time he saw that slimy snake he would rip him a new one. Interfering with his mental stability was not only stressful and taxing on himself but it could mean winning or losing this war along with hundreds of innocent and not so innocent lives.  
  
"But what about life?" Snape's cutting voice interrupted. "You survived the Avada Kadavra because you subconsciously understood death and had the urge to live. But do you understand life enough to live? Would you understand it enough when it comes to staying alive?" And with a sweep of his robes the other man gracefully got up and left the room shutting the door with a bang.  
  
"What's up his arse today?" Harry murmured not at all taking his words into mind much. He had considered them before, of course he had. Just like he considered everything else pertaining to this war but there was nothing he could do to save himself that wouldn't affect others.  
  
********************  
  
Four-thirty a.m. called finally only giving Harry what seemed to be four hours of nightmare filled sleep. Life really wasn't fair, he realized gazing out his window, which showed it was still dark outside he grabbed the blankets and quickly yanked them off before he grew lazy and fell back to sleep. The cool air hit his warm skin like a needles poked into a pincushion, sharp and painful.  
  
"Damn it's cold!!" he yelped sprinting to the adjoined bathroom he and Hermione shared carefully hopping from one foot to the next to keep his feet from freezing on the stone floor. He quickly relieved himself and got dressed in sweats with swimming trunks underneath. He had started wearing them since he had company these days out on the lake and wished to spare both himself and Gabrielle the embarrassment.  
  
Back in his room it was still cold even in warmer clothes and if he was to come back soaking wet then he'd literally freeze to death.  
  
With one look at the fireplace it lit up with a cackling fire warming the room and dispelling the chill in his bones some. It was the middle of September but the temperature had dropped drastically and it was on days like these that all he'd like to do was stay in bed and live a normal life. Somehow though he would get through today just like he got through the past two years.  
  
Now all he had to do was find his invisibility cloak, but where did he put it? Going to his top right dresser drawer where he usually kept things like small trinkets, the marauders map and anything else that might help him in Hogwarts he opened it and was surprised to find lingerie. Women's lingerie.  
  
//What the hell?!\\ Frowning he picked one of the garments up and shook his head dropping it back into the drawer and closing it quickly. //Don't you have enough room in your dorm Gabby! Honestly you've already taken up half of my closet.\\  
  
About a week ago it had seemed like a good idea to take Gabrielle on a shopping spree during Hogsmeade weekend considering she had nothing with her. Everything of hers had been destroyed in the fall of Beauxbatons but now this was a little extreme! There was simply no room for these things.  
  
But with a resigned sigh he smiled slightly, if it brought some happiness to her then it was all worth it.  
  
It turned out his trusty cloak had been hidden in the back of his dresser and he put it on swiftly grabbing his pendant he directed it to 'point GD' which was actually connected to Gabrielle's own pendant that he had crafter for her use. Although he had to be careful not to catch her in any awkward situations.  
  
As usual he was pulled away in a mist of colors and pulled back down to lay right beside the blonde girl, who lay content in her sleep breathing softly and perhaps even dreaming. She looked so peaceful right now like nothing troubled her at all and in a way he wished it so.  
  
The past two weeks had been hectic on her and it was starting to show. Dark circles would accumulate under her eyes while she slept, he didn't know if it was a charm or her Veela assets that made them disappear during the day but her exhaustion was still evident. In a way he wanted to stop pushing and training her and just let her relax, have a normal teenage life.  
  
Unfortunately you can't be normal when Voldemort is after your hide. You can't be have a normal existence if a dark wizard murdered your family and as much as Harry wanted to look out for Gabrielle he knew sooner or later he wouldn't be there for that crucial moment in time when something could go wrong and at that moment she would need to know how to defend herself.  
  
"Transportus Gabby." Were the words keyed to Gabrielle's own necklace and within moments he felt himself rematerialize on a soft and warm surface. So comfortable that he wished he could just wrap his arm around the blonde lying next to him and close his eyes before letting himself fall into the land of dreams.  
  
Supporting himself on his elbow Harry leaned over the girl to see her breathing rhythmically and bundled up in two thick quilts to keep warm. Gabrielle was really sensitive with the cold and in the mornings Harry sometimes couldn't bring himself to wake her up and make her go outside. Especially now that it was getting cold.  
  
"So beautiful." He whispered to no one in particular as he stroked her hair and pushed a few strands that fell in her face behind her ear. Everyday would be the same, he would always port into her room and watch her for a few minutes, it seemed that even in their sleep Veela radiated their powers of seduction. But like all good thing this had to end.  
  
"Gabby." he gently shook her and jumped right up off the bed when she snapped awake holding her wand in hand.  
  
//Not bad, except if I was a Death Eater she would have been dead already.well maybe not a Death Eater, they're to stupid to accomplish that but Voldemort could. But then again Voldemort couldn't kill anyone without gloating first.\\ he thought and turned back to the surprised girl who now put away her wand with a groan and stubbornly snuggled back into her blankets.  
  
"Gway, wanna sweep." She muttered half awake burying her pale face into her pillow and throwing the blankets over her head covering her whole body now.  
  
"Come on Gabby time to get up. Strangling yourself in your sheets won't get you out of this; remember you chose to get up this early. Or do you want to give up already? You want Voldemort to win that easily, you want your family's death to go without being avenged?" He smirked as she rolled out of bed with a groan.  
  
//That always gets her going, wish she would learn to control her temper and close off her emotions a little though.\\  
  
"Harold James Potter, I absolutely hate you!" came her snarl as she stepped onto the cold floor with her bare feet and shivered.  
  
"Yes, yes I know, take a number Gabby. I'll be waiting in the common room." And with those words he strolled out of the fourth year girls dorms chuckling as the blonde cursed his name quietly behind him.  
  
In the common room Harry wasn't at all surprised to see Hermione sitting in one of the large armchairs by the roaring fire with her head buried in a large tome she had borrowed from the library. Ever since the Head Girl had found out he was ninja mage Smoke she had done everything in her power to ease the load on his shoulders despite his protests.  
  
She was now a silent partner in his research and in the mornings would get up to guard the common room making sure no one from Gryffindor house followed him out, and if they did get up and happened to catch him leaving she would distract them long enough to place a memory and sleeping charm on them.  
  
It was a dirty business but someone had to do it.  
  
"Hello 'Mione." He whispered and she whipped her head up and smiled slightly showing the strain of having so little sleep these past few weeks. She too was getting bags under her eyes and dark circles as well. She looked the way she was in third year when she used the time turner to go to so many classes and like a part of his heart ached to stop Gabrielle's torment, it also ached to stop Hermione's.  
  
Along with her discovery of his ventures they had become close again, closer than he and Ron had ever been. Of course this only made his red haired friend all the crankier, which didn't make many things easy. Ron, Harry noticed was starting to get aggravated with him, more aggravated for spending more time with Hermione than being so secretive the past couple of years.  
  
"Hi Harry." She whispered back. "Sleep well? Any dreams tonight?"  
  
"Slept like a baby." he said lying right through his teeth. He'd become good at it too as she gave him a relieved grin.  
  
Although they had become close, they hadn't become so close that he was willing to tell her all his secrets and plans. She didn't even know that he was a necromancer, nor where he got all his information on Voldemort's activities. As much as he would like to tell her the truth about a lot of things he was doing it for not only her protection but also his own as well. If Hermione was ever kidnapped which was highly likely seeing as she was one of Harry's best friends, then she wouldn't be able to tell anyone much besides the fact that he was Smoke and Gabrielle was training to be a ninja mage.  
  
He could live with that getting out but Merlin forbid anyone else knowing about the necromancy, they would ship him to Azkaban and the Dementor's Kiss before he could say Quiddich.  
  
"Oh before I forget," The brunette said quickly and reached over the side of her armchair pulling a bundle of what looked like towels out and handed it to him. He then discovered that there were two fluffy bathrobes and four towels. "I notice you never bring towels for after your swim, and you may not need them but Gabrielle probably will. It's freezing out there and you'll probably catch a cold." She explained reprimanding him slightly for not thinking of it before and he thanked her holding the bundle under his arms.  
  
"Of course mum." He teased getting a scowl back in return but he could see that Hermione's eyes were laughing even if her lips were not.  
  
"Alright come on Potter I'm ready." Came the half awake voice of Gabrielle Delacour as she stumbled down the stairs rubbing her eyes and yawning widely.  
  
"Good morning Hermione." She added afterwards seeing the girl laughing with Harry.  
  
"Morning." Hermione threw back gently smiling slightly and without further ado went back to her book ignoring both of them as they argued good naturedly on their way out.  
  
-----------------------------  
  
"Come on Gab, quit stalling!" Harry yelled over his shoulder exasperatedly once they stepped outside and completed their warm-ups he practically had to pull her around the Quiddich Pitch.  
  
"The way you're carrying on I'd swear you're my fat cousin Dudley." He mocked and grinned getting the needed result as her eyes flashed a bright silver color and she knocked his hands off oh her arms and ran ahead of him.  
  
"You'll never make ten laps at that rate!" he yelled ahead as she continued on at full speed, he had no doubt she'd wear herself out and collapse before the seventh maybe even pass out before they got to the lake for a few laps.  
  
Gabrielle growled deep in her throat and grudgingly slowed down to a light jog. She just hated it when Harry was right, she hated it how she was always lagging behind and most of all she hated that after this he'd just teach her about the theory of a spell she'd learn soon. She wanted to get some results already!  
  
Finishing her ten laps a little after the Head boy did she collapse in a heap by his waiting feet and breathed heavily trying to calm down a little.  
  
"I hate you." She breathed not even meaning it and knowing he wouldn't take it seriously. Looking up at him she could see his face marred in a grimace as he rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand.  
  
//Voldemort must be huffing.\\ she realized getting up and pushing Harry's hand away before putting her own over it and rubbing in little circles.  
  
She could practically feel the heat and built up energy coming off of it along with the tension fading from Harry's shoulders as he leant against her slightly and wrapped his arms around her waste gratefully.  
  
"You don't know how good that feels." He murmured into her hair heaving a tired sigh. The stabbing pain that he felt nearly splitting his head open melted away under her touch like ice cream would melt under the sun. Her touch felt so light and refreshing, like a cool breeze during a hot summer day.  
  
It was almost like petting a unicorn, so light that their touch drove off all the negative and dark energy to the far corners of his being. How much longer could he last like this? If it weren't for wanting to keep Gabrielle from experiencing what he was at the moment he would have long given in to the idea of bonding and getting some of this off his shoulders.  
  
His father, Remus, and Sirius were right, he had to do something quickly before he turns into an old rag without a purpose. Salazar was really grating on his nerves greatly too. He knew what the old ghost was doing while he was sleeping yet there was nothing he could do about it but let the dead help him.  
  
"Harry maybe we should go inside, you don't look to hot at the moment." Part of her mind knew that he wouldn't allow it but she had to try anyways. What surprised Gabrielle was the answer he gave.  
  
"Maybe that's a good idea, I've been pushing you to hard anyways. Maybe we should just skip the swim and go straight to magic." He suggested still leaning against her sleepily and yawning all of a sudden.  
  
"Whaaa????!!!" she was not at all expecting him to say that and just to make sure she brought her cheek to his forehead to see if he was burning up in a fever. Surprisingly he wasn't.  
  
"Alright Harry, I knew something was wrong and Sirius has been badgering me about the whole bonding for days on end now. What's wrong with you? Was it the vision you just had? What happened in it?"  
  
"Old vision, nothing to worry about." He whispered raking a hand through the hair of her ponytail and smiling slightly hoping to get off the subject.  
  
"Nothing to worry about my ass! If you don't tell me what's wrong I'm taking your godfathers advice and tying you down to perform the soul bind." She threatened him trying to pry him off of her and giving him a good glare, not enough to sway him unfortunately.  
  
"Tie me down eh? Sounds kinky." A strange grin plastered over his face and he stood of his own accord after much prying from Gabrielle and gathered the pile of towels from the ground before giving the blonde a hand up from where she sunk to the floor under his weight.  
  
"Sometimes you could be such a horn dog." She complained and tried to change the subject. "So are you going to teach me any useful magic today? Perhaps something dark?"  
  
"No." he answered stubbornly only making her grind her teeth further in annoyance.  
  
"How come?"  
  
"You've already asked me that before, and I've already told you I won't teach you any. What part of 'it's not good for you' don't you understand Gabby?"  
  
Sometimes Gabrielle couldn't help but feel like a child under his gaze during these kinds of discussions. She hated it when he did this and as usually she pushed him even more.  
  
"You know just as well that if you don't teach me then I'll teach myself!" She didn't expect him to grab her so roughly by the arm and spin her around to face him. For a moment she shied away pulling against him when she saw the animalistic rage in his eyes. Lately he's been so short tempered and vicious she couldn't help but feel apprehensive. Something was going on, just as Sirius had told her.  
  
"Do you know what it feels like to have something so pure and light corrupted by the dark?!" he nearly screamed jerking her arm and shaking her aggressively giving the blonde no doubt that there would be bruises on her arms later.  
  
"Because every time you touch me that's what I feel. I feel the dark corrupting you. I am dark Gabby, because of the dark arts I'm becoming more and more like Voldemort each day until one day there won't be anything let but a psycho in this body." She couldn't help it, she felt tears rolling down her cheeks, hot tears that landed on his hand when she turned her face away from his jaded eyes.  
  
"Harry stop it, you're scaring me."  
  
"Scaring you?!" he roared incredulously. "You think you're scared! Fucking hell, you don't know what being bloody scared is! I'm being corrupted from the inside out Gabrielle, in a matter of years I'm going to die and I'm bloody scared! Yes, Harry Potter the-fucking-boy-who-fucking-can't-die is scared or dieing! Scared of living! Do you know that there hasn't been a Necromancer to live past his 30th birthday? Well I won't live to see my 20th and I'm just hoping that I can fight this.whatever this is doing to me until then."  
  
"You're not going to die." She cried still scared, she wasn't scared of him hurting her but rather scared of what would happen after that, what would happen after he snapped out of this daze.  
  
"Yes," he argued. "Yes I am." She felt him let go of her arm and drop the towels only to grip her chin in his strong hand and move it so she was looking at the underside of his other arm. She hadn't noticed before but his veins, she almost cried out when seeing that the veins beneath his skin were black inside of blue. As black as the night.  
  
"Harry let me help you please," her hands trembled tracing the spidery lines down his arm and up to his elbow where they started fading back into blue. He wasn't lost yet since his veins weren't completely turned black.  
  
"You can't help me." He whispered letting go of her and stepping down to pick up the linens he'd dropped earlier. "No one can."  
  
"Harry that's Salazar speaking! Not you! God damn it why won't you just share the pain with me? What I'm not good enough for you?! I won't stand aside and watch the Others, whomever they are do this to you!"  
  
"How much does Sirius tell you? Doesn't he understand what bloody discretion means?" Harry ranted throwing his hands up and clenching his jaw painfully to keep himself from saying something that he would regret later.  
  
"He's worried about you! You don't even listen to him anymore. What else is he supposed to do but tell me? You won't even listen to me either though."  
  
"He's not my bloody father! He can't order me around you know. And you can't either, you're not my sister, you're not my mother, nor are you a long time friend, you're an acquaintance, a girlfriend, an apprentice!"  
  
Then Gabrielle did the unthinkable, just as Harry had taught her to, she decked him right in the jaw with a nice upper hook wincing as her fist came in contact with it. For a few moments she stood heaving rubbing her knuckles while he blinked as if woken up from some stupor.  
  
She watched him shudder uncontrollably and just let his legs give out falling on the ground and sitting there like a deer caught in the headlights.  
  
"If I'm nothing then you don't need me anymore." Were her final words to him before she ran back to the castle tears gathering in her eyes and blurring her vision. God, she couldn't lose him too, he was all she had left.  
  
She ran all the way to Gryffindor tower where she gave the Fat Lady the password without a second in between getting there and rushed past Hermione who got up alarmed to see the blonde in tears. The first place she could think of going was to the Head girl's bathroom, which Hermione had let her use more than once in the mornings as not to wake anyone up in the girl's dorms.  
  
Maybe a hot shower would make her feel better.  
  
----------------------  
  
Harry sat like an idiot for another half hour minutes until he realized what just had happened.  
  
"Bloody hell what have I done?" he ran a hand through his hair after freeing it from a ribbon that he had tying it back. "Gabby." He whispered rubbing his soar jaw before getting up and not caring whether he'd get caught or not he used his pendant to port to her side no matter where she was.  
  
-----------------------  
  
Why did he have to be such an ass? Why was he so stubborn? Why not just go through with the bind and get this shit out of the way?  
  
Gabrielle slumped against the shower wall closing her eyes and letting her tears mingle with the water running down her face. She'd been in the shower for next to twenty minutes, just standing in the warm spray and letting her muscles loosen.  
  
Hermione had come up to check on her and find out why she was crying but upon getting no answer after a whole ten minutes she gave up reasoning the blonde needed to be alone and left cursing Harry's name whom hadn't showed up yet.  
  
Gabrielle turned around resting her forehead on the cool tiles and sobbed, this time harder than before feeling her arms where bruises already started to form. She knew that what happened Harry had no control over, this was a darker Harry influenced by a dark spirit. But it still hurt; mentally it still hurt because her mind would always associate Harry with the pain now.  
  
In her mind she could almost hear him next to her, whispering apologies and gathering her in his arms. For a moment she thought she truly went mad, it felt so real that she had to find out herself.  
  
"HARRY!!!!!!!!!?" Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape as she screamed.  
  
----------------------  
  
Upon teleporting Harry found himself getting wet under a warm spray and feeling uncomfortable in his sweats once they were soaked to the bone he peeled them off and threw them over the shower stall along with the towels and robes he was still carrying from outside. He knew how it must have looked but at the moment all coherent thoughts were stricken from his mind when he saw her.  
  
Were those tears or just water? He asked himself watching her shudder and tremble sobbing lightly and turning around to lean against the tiles. Her shoulders were still heaving and all he wanted to do was take back all the hurt he inflicted.  
  
He lightly ran a hand over her shoulder for once his eyes didn't stray to the rest of her body to remark on how beautiful she really was.  
  
"Gabby.Gabrielle I'm so sorry. Please, I didn't mean what I said. I'm so sorry. Forgive me Gab." He whispered again and again running both his hands over her shoulders and massaging them gently, he let his skin graze hers as if she was made of glass and he was afraid she'd break.  
  
Slowly she turned around with eyes as wide as a house elf's.  
  
"HARRY!!!!!!!!!?"  
  
"I'm sorry." Was his only dazed reply. "I didn't mean it, please Gabby, forgive me." He brushed a few strands of her wet hair behind her ears and bent his head to kiss her cheek lightly whispering in her ear. "I'm sorry." He ran his hands down her shoulders and to her upper arms where he gripped her earlier with such savageness.  
  
The blonde felt his hands smooth over the skin of her upper arms and she felt a chill go down her spine all of a sudden after being out of the spray of the shower for so long. She shuddered getting goose bumps all over her skin.  
  
Harry noticed the shudder and stepped away letting go of her afraid that he'd scared her somehow.  
  
//She's scared of me.\\ he thought with a saddened expression that she must have noticed because once she did it Gabrielle understood completely and disregarding the limited amount to coverage they had over their bodies she took a step closer to him drawing his hands back to her arms showing him that she wasn't scared of him. Showing that she forgave him, or at least could.  
  
"Harry." she murmured looking down and said something he least expected. "Why are you wearing socks in the shower?" and she started laughing, that laugh that he just fell in love with the first time he heard it. A laugh so wonderful that it was contagious and he started laughing along with her slipping his socks off and throwing them over the stall along with everything else.  
  
He must have been so preoccupied with apologizing that he didn't notice them.  
  
"So, am I forgiven?" he asked hopefully kissing any new bruises he could find on her arms.  
  
"Not so fast." She pulled them away and shot him a good glare which turned into a furious blush once her attention returned to how obviously naked they were.  
  
"Huh?" his bewildered expression showed that he was still not at all himself. He must have been shocked from what happened earlier and not at all have been quite himself especially if he just stepped into the shower with his clothes on earlier.  
  
"What are you going to do when this happens again and I'll be trained enough to thoroughly beat your arse up? Because believe me I will hurt you next time you go crazy like that!"  
  
"Simple." He replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "It won't happen again." The assurance did not quite set her mind at ease though.  
  
"Oh and how are you going to keep that from happening again?"  
  
To Gabrielle's surprise he got down on his knees and she almost stepped back afraid of what he was planning. But before she could step away he embraced her waist with his arms and laid his head on her abdomen burying his face against her skin and murmuring something incoherent.  
  
"What?" she asked placing a hand on his wet hair and stroking it like she would a dog, she could feel the slight stubble on his cheeks rubbing against her stomach and couldn't help but smile; it didn't quite tickle but it felt good.  
  
He turned his gaze up to her, his bright green eyes clearer than ever and a small smile on his lips.  
  
"Marry Me." He said and if he wasn't holding her around the waste she would have fallen by now as her knees weakened and she balanced herself by holding onto his shoulders once he again asked.  
  
"Gabrielle Delacour will you marry me, will you bind your soul to mine for all eternity?"  
  
***********************************AUTHOR'S NOTE***********************************  
  
Well folks how did ya like that?? I particularly thought that the socks in the shower thing was funny, but hey that happens to everyone right? Lol. Okay I admit I forgot my socks once. Looks like you're the first to know, along with millions of other people around the world not to mention some of my friends who happen to read this stuff.  
  
All right then off that topic now, I hope everyone's had a happy thanksgiving remember.tis the season to be sharing! Lol.  
  
I realize that I haven't updated in a while and I once again apologize I probably won't update until I get this blasted science project I've waited to the last minute to do. GTG now.  
  
Oh by the way I had one of those stupid spells today and momentarily forgot how to spell Quiddich (right? Or wrong?) Ever since then I couldn't remember how to spell it and I find myself to lazy to go and check.  
  
See ya later alligators!!! READ AND REVIEW!!!!!! 


	8. Keeper of Death

The Hero Hidden Beneath A Traitor's Clothing  
  
Summary: Voldemort is at the height of his power once more, terrorizing both the Muggle and Wizarding World's he is considered unstoppable and ruthless. There is only one person left who can truly defeat him, a boy that the world has set on a pedestal. In his seventh year the boy is now a man and single handedly taking on the dark forces but are the people truly grateful to this mysterious warrior, or will he have to depend on another girl several years younger than him and a complete stranger to believe in him.  
  
Rated: R (for adult content and some violence)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the talented Ms. Rowling does, and the WB has some rights to the series. I just write for the hell of it all, so don't sue. I don't have anything worth taking me to court over.  
  
Chapter 8: Keeper of Death  
  
"Marry Me." He said and if he wasn't holding her around the waste she would have fallen by now as her knees weakened and she balanced herself by holding onto his shoulders once he again asked.  
  
"Gabrielle Delacour will you marry me, will you bind your soul to mine for all eternity?"  
  
If Harry had asked her this a week ago or even yesterday that question than Gabrielle knew that she would have said yes within an instant, but now.. she wanted answers and while he was desperate she would get them.  
  
"Hold on a minute.why now.why do you all of a sudden tell me that this is the fault of dark magic? I mean you keep telling me that it's harmless as long as you use it for good, and that's what you've been doing right? Well what's the problem, why are your veins turning black, why are you in risk of dying or becoming some sort of zombie thing?"  
  
She poured forth a round of questions not even ashamed at her lack of strong vocabulary and for a moment there the Head boy looked lost between which to answer first and what to tell her and what to leave out. It took a few minutes to gather himself before he stood again and faced her.  
  
"Because dark magic is a lot more powerful than light, granted that you have enough power to sustain it. But if that power is too much then you draw on the dark, and eventually if you use enough it corrupts you. If I were human, if I were like everyone else the dark magic can't cling to me like it does now. Truth is I'm not even sure if the light magic is doing me any good either, it's a theory that I haven't tested yet. Perhaps my body is just to weak for it."  
  
"But you are human!" Gabrielle bristled grabbing a shampoo bottle while they were still in the shower and just squirting a glob onto Harry's head.  
  
"Uh-h what are you doing?" he asked bewildered letting her massage the cool substance into his hair.  
  
"Washing your hair, now keep talking mister! You're not out of the forest yet!"  
  
"All right, I'll talk just don't be so rough I think you'll pull my hair out instead of washing it!" he complained wincing when she viciously scrubbed his hair.  
  
"Big baby." She muttered slowing down her vicious scrubbing to a gentler caress and waiting for him to continue. "Well you are human from what I can tell!"  
  
"I'm a necromancer Gabby, I'm half dead. That's why I can't die, because I already am dead. And it's because I'm dead that my body is weak. I'm guessing magic deteriorates it."  
  
"Don't be absurd Potter, you look fine to me. You don't seem to be rotting." She gave him the once over and blushed slightly and concentrated back on rinsing the shampoo from his hair.  
  
"I look fine now but wait till a couple of years go by, I'll be a bloody zombie." He shuddered removing her hands from his tangled up hair and rinsing it off himself.  
  
"Well I won't let you get to that state. Now how come I can't do dark magic? I'm human, at least I think I am." Gabrielle handed him the conditioner and he started on his hair again.  
  
"You're Veela, not human. That's why your magic level is above the average witch's. If you weren't part Veela I'd gladly teach you, but unless I want you to turn into a fried biscuit then I think we'd better stick to lighter magic and put more power behind it. But then again since you're part Veela then maybe your magic can fight off the dark and strengthen your defenses?" He pondered the concept out loud while rinsing his hair.  
  
For some reason, Gabrielle didn't know which, but for some reason Harry wasn't the least embarrassed with their situation. Gabrielle wasn't particularly shy, Veela's were for the most part not ashamed of their bodies, and it was in their nature not to blush every time someone looked at them.  
  
Looking at other people was a completely different thing though. Harry didn't seem to mind being in full view of anyone though, after all his muggle job almost depended on it.  
  
All of a sudden out of no where something cool fell on her head and surprised Gabrielle jumped out of her reverie to find Harry pouring a ton of shampoo on her hair and grinning mischievously.  
  
"Harry you dolt I'll never be able to wash this out!" she yelled but was clearly silenced by a quick kiss from him. A slight brush of their lips. They hadn't had any intimate moments since she left the hospital wing. They'd either both be tired after classes and training or to fixed on their cause to stop and think about anything else.  
  
"So will you marry me then?" he asked.  
  
"Why the sudden change of heart?" She inquired already setting to work getting most of the shampoo off her hair and massaging enough in to clean it.  
  
"I-I don't know." A heavy sigh greeted her ears after he said that and she wondered if he was perhaps that scared of death that he changed his mind, and risked hers. But if he was so scared then why didn't he just agree to it sooner?  
  
"I suppose because I want to keep you safe, and it's the only way I know how. Besides if I want to live long enough to go back to the past and change things then don't you think that this would be a good idea?"  
  
She didn't answer feeling that it was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. For some reason Harry seemed nervous about something. Perhaps it was the little episode that he had with his scar outside? She wondered but decided to ask him a little later when he started saying something.  
  
Another thought entered her mind, the same one that had plagued her for a while now. Harry had said that the only reason he was doing this was a chance to survive and to change things. Meaning that they would be stuck with each other until one of them dies, and then after death. He didn't actually love her. He couldn't, she thought to herself. She wasn't even sure if she loved him all that much, after all he only took care of her because of a sense of obligation he felt towards nearly everyone. They'd only been together a couple of weeks, what other reason than to save their families would they stay together then besides physical attraction and respect they felt towards one another?  
  
"Actually to tell you the truth my mum finally relented and convinced me." He said chagrinned and brought her out of her reveries. "I didn't want to at first because I was and still am scared the same thing happening to me would start happening to you. And that's a possible risk you know."  
  
She nodded acknowledging it. "What's it like talking to the dead"  
  
Harry furrowed his eyebrows thinking of the best way to explain it and turned off the showerhead as he was starting to get prune skin around the fingertips.  
  
"It's like talking to anyone else except if they piss you off you can't punch them in the face I suppose." He joked but reverted back into a serious mode. "It really depends on which spirits you're talking to. When talking to the Others it's cold, like a chill that goes down to your bones." He visibly shuddered stepping out of the shower and wrapping Gabrielle's wet and shaking form in a large fluffy towel he grabbed off the rack nearby before doing the same for himself.  
  
"Regular spirits are much warmer, like a cup of tea you could say. However only Necromancers can feel the warmth, to anyone else if they possessed an extra sense for this sort of thing they'd still feel the chill either way."  
  
"Well." to her it sounded sort of creepy, seeing transparent forms bothering you all day and trying to make conversation. Some as cold as ice and influence you like a Dementor would but others as hot as a flame or just warm enough to make you feel uncomfortable.  
  
"Well then who are the Others? I've heard Sirius mention them a few times before, and you keep talking about them like they're the plague."  
  
"They might as well be the plague. I hope that no one particularly close to me ever becomes one because my job as a necromancer is to help them, the problem is they don't want to be helped. The Others." he started leading her into his room and welcoming her to any wardrobe that she needed to borrow.  
  
"The Others are like restless souls, rather like shadows. They are people whom have died but don't wish to relinquish their claim to the living world and hold onto it with everything they have, they disturb the balance in our world because of their influence. Like one extra death than expected, like a child born without a limb, like a Dark Lord manifesting. Like deciding who dies and who doesn't. It's all their doing simply for their sadistic amusement."  
  
Harry winced knowing everything he was telling her would probably be recounted by the Others and paid in full. Oh he was going to have a big headache tomorrow.  
  
"Unfortunately the Others make up the majority of the spirit lands. They constitute of a major group of vague shapes and shadows, sometimes smoky figures and at other times they are clear enough to make out depending on how long they have been a shadow."  
  
"But wouldn't any soul want to latch onto life after dieing? What makes them let go of it and just accept it?" Gabrielle felt rather privileged to be alive, why would anyone just respect death like that? Why wouldn't you be bitter if someone just ripped you from your happiness?  
  
"Well they aren't expected to accept death the moment they die. All souls have a maximum of ten earth years to accept what happened to them, they watch the world, they watch their loved ones and over those years they just decide if death is really worth gloating over. Some souls accept before others, while some never do."  
  
"Then what makes a soul a ghost?"  
  
The Gryffindor boy sighed and leaned back on the queen sized bed feeling exhausted but compelled to answer the blonde's many questions.  
  
"You're a ghost when you see no difference between life and death, when you suddenly find yourself dead you either don't notice or you don't care enough to become a spirit. Take Professor Binns for example he's dull as a ghost and he was equally dull when he was alive. One day he just woke up after passing away in his sleep and just went to teaching not noticing in the slightest if anything unusual happened to him. I still think he misses the fact that he could pass through people and walls."  
  
"Is it me or is this to confusing?" she asked climbing onto the bed and under the covers to keep warm despite the clothes that she had borrowed from Harry which were more than a little baggy on her slight form.  
  
"I think it's you." He muttered sarcastically and started borrowing through his drawers in order to find something to wear. In the end he just put on a pair of warm sweat pants and dove under the covers with the blonde.  
  
"We have two hours, might as well sleep." He spoke wearily with his expression downcast. He was more or less feeling the disappointment in not receiving Gabrielle's answer yet. Harry actually feared that because he waited so long she wouldn't accept his proposition.  
  
None-the-less he enveloped her in his arms and let her lay her head on his chest like old lovers would, with his arm crossed and placed on her stomach. He felt the blonde lazily run her arms up down his skin and at one point turn his arm and trace the black veins that crept to his inner elbows. Every time she did that they would burn slightly pushing away the light she unknowingly offered and drawing on the dark.  
  
Upon further inspection Gabrielle noticed that not only did the veins turn dark but also they didn't pulse at all, as if they were completely dead. It didn't make sense though if they were dead then Harry wouldn't be able to use his arms. Or perhaps he still can't but eventually he'll lose them.  
  
"Yes." She croaked holding back tears and kissing his arms right above the darkened veins. "Yes." She repeated snuggling into his chest. "I won't let you go, and I won't watch you rot either Harry."  
  
Harry lay there with a small smile on his face and sighed peacefully tightening his hold on the blonde.  
  
//You won't die Gabby, I won't let Voldemort get to you...and I won't let the Others decide your fate either.\\ He thought back to his earlier vision, unlike the majority of others he'd had during his waking hours, this one was no doubt a premonition of the future.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere soon so no fears Cherie."  
  
He closed his eyes to rest them a little but viciously held onto reality as to not slip away into his dreams where the nightmares were, where the visions were, and mostly where the Others were.  
  
=======================  
  
Cold, he was so cold that the chill burned his skin and froze his breath into a thick fog. Fierce shivers ran through his body and an icy grip captured his still mechanically beating heart.  
  
The Others never could stand that "frantic thumping" as they called it.  
  
All around him was a thick mist that prevented him from even seeing anything in front of his eyes, and a lacking sense of direction that had him confused to which was up, down, right or left. Everything was the same and everything was cold just as the restless souls of the dead liked it.  
  
By now he was numb and looking around waiting for someone or something to greet him. It was times like these that Harry wished there actually was a true heaven and a true hell, that way he'd most likely be burning in the fires of hell instead of freezing his arse off in the in between.  
  
A breeze swept past him followed by a painful shiver in his spine and he knew that one of Them was trying to test his strength again. They wanted to take over his body, possess it and consume his soul.  
  
"I suggest you stay out of this body." he spoke up fighting them off with ease and as usually sending some of his own power out in the form of shadows and smoke chasing them off and forming a shield around himself. "I'm in no mood to fight you, and I'm in no mood to argue about the battle of Beauxbatons!"  
  
His voice seemed to disappear as if absorbed into the abyss all around him and within seconds forms started to shift and appear. They were not clear at first, mostly coming from the dense fog around him. Some were so far gone that they had no form any longer, others were new and clear as the day was.  
  
A chuckle was heard from the fog and an amused voice spoke out to him. "You still refer to this form as your body young one." A laugh followed that statement. "Your body does not travel with you to the shadow realm nor the spirit lands."  
  
He clenched his teeth ignoring the voice and waiting for the shadows to show themselves.  
  
The Others were a complicated group, stubborn on their intent to hold on to the world of the living for as long as possible they used what amount of energy they had to link themselves to it and thus losing shape, color, and voice. They communicated in an array of magical waves that they sent forth and received. A hard language to communicate but it served a purpose learning, these magical waves were much like spells compounded into lights and streams of different varieties but harmless just as a warm breeze. This so called 'language' helped Harry fight off and read the curses that were thrown at him, and often reshape and throw them back. It was a useful talent when fighting Death Eaters or even idiot Aurors.  
  
"Oh but we must argue young Necromancer," a different voice spoke as he received the message from a dark cloud that had the vague shape of a woman in a Victorian dress. "You disobeyed the order of Death. Why do you protect the ones you've saved so? You know they are mortal; they will die sooner or later. What is your hold on them? You would visit them here, no doubt."  
  
Angered by her foolish words Harry scowled deeply clenching his fist. "There is no order of Death! People die when they die! I interfered and they didn't die! I care for them! I can't lose anyone else, why can't you understand? Don't you remember what it is to love? To hold someone? To feel their rhythmic heart beat apposed to the fake one I have to create with a magical illusion? They will not die because I won't let them. End of story!"  
  
"You know just as well as everyone in the Shadow realm that there were to be no survivors of that battle! Fate planned it!" Another form said this one a little clearer, it was a younger shadow.  
  
"NO YOU PLANNED IT!" He answered back. "And you had no right to! You have no hold over the living! Don't you understand that your time has passed and you have to move on? What purpose do you have in staying a shadow? What do you receive from existing like this?!" he yelled at them waving his arms around like a lunatic.  
  
They seemed amused by his outbursts at the very most and a few even chuckled weakly. "You have tried endlessly to convince us young Necromancer, it is of no use, our choice is just that, our choice." The same female voice spoke in a surprisingly mothering tone. "But alas the time for a new ruling body has come once again." It replied morosely this time.  
  
Harry noticed the change in their attitude towards him. From all the past experiences when he had been dragged into the Shadow realm the Others have always been rude and callous towards him. Going as far as possessing his body when he let his guard down and causing pain beyond pain in him. They had the power and they weren't afraid to use it.  
  
And now they were speaking of a new ruling body. He hadn't even realized there was an old ruler, or even empire. Of course surely there had to have been someone to decide on the rules that he was told of, and there had to be someone who decided who was marked to die and who wasn't.  
  
"Why are you being nice to me? What do you know that I don't?" he questioned them staying on his guard and eyeing each of them wearily.  
  
The haunted faces and shapes were silent for a long while giving him the feeling they were searching his very soul and exploring all his intimate secrets.  
  
"The Necromancers of the world have gathered, even those long gone have assembled meetings in the shadow realm." Came a deep voice followed by a feminine one.  
  
"We of the Shadow realm have deemed you ready young one."  
  
"Ready for what?" At that moment he remembered feeling only confusion and a sense of despair. It was not often that he was left out of the loop anymore, at least that was the impression he received. "And what other Necromancers? There are no others! I'm the only one.aren't I?" He asked skeptically now sure that he couldn't be the only one.  
  
He had been so blind! No one really knew much about Necromancers that's why he couldn't find out much but it wasn't possible that he was one in 6 billion whom had been chosen for the spot. How could he have been so stupid! Here he was wallowing in his own self-pity about his miserable life and the fact that he was alone when there were possibly others out there.  
  
As if reading his mind, which Harry was sure they could do one of the shadows the same woman in the Victorian dress who seemed to have been chosen as their representative spoke to him.  
  
"Yes indeed we have kept things from you, for your own good we assure you. Just as everyone else has been watching out for you. We couldn't lose out next candidate for a new Reaper."  
  
"A NEW WHAT!!!????!" He had shouted wide-eyed. Surely they didn't mean that. Surely they wouldn't saddle him with anymore work.  
  
"As you humans call it the Grim Reaper of Death or perhaps the Angel of Death, the spirit lands need someone to collect passing and speed up the process of choosing either side. You must convince them to choose to be shadow like us or to be a spirit. There are to many deaths occurring and the in between is getting rather full."  
  
"Why me?" he whispered brokenly. Why did he have to deal with all the dirty work AGAIN?  
  
"Because you have been prepared for it." He was answered but he quickly shook his head.  
  
"I have enough on my shoulders, I don't have enough time to counsel the dead. I'm not a bloody shrink for your rotting carcasses!" he lashed out immediately regretting it when he felt an icy grip on his heart, although it wasn't beating naturally it still had feeling.  
  
It squeezed until he was choking and breathing heavily. He wavered on his feet but didn't crash down to their mercy. Eventually they released him and he stood desperately trying to regain his breath and composure.  
  
"We are not asking for much. There are privileges to this as well. You may kill without being questioned, you may punish a spirit without being questioned, you may." but he cut the shadow off angrily.  
  
"I may have to be a shadow myself and forget about everyone I love, I may have to leave them behind. I promised I wouldn't and I won't. If your way of preparing me was getting rid of everyone I cared for just so I wouldn't feel attached then you've failed. I'm not going to be your Reaper as I don't feel the urge to take anyone's life nor punish anyone except Tom Riddle and his minions."  
  
All were quiet around him and the Victorian lady as he started to call her in his mind floated forward. Her features becoming a bit clearer as he got closer. She had a line across her neck suggesting he had either had her throat slit or been beheaded to bring around her death. She must have still been bitter towards the world for her death to cling to it so strongly.  
  
"Young Necromancer, you don't understand the privileges you're being given." She simply stated. "You have the power to keep your beloved alive for as long as you like now. And for what you gathered you are wrong when you say you may have to become a shadow. There have been living Reapers before, and since you are so eager to bind yourself to your female companion then you truly will be a living Reaper instead of a rotting Necromancer with Death's title. We would not fool you young one."  
  
A smoky appendage reached out to touch him and he felt a chill of icy wind sweep past his cheek upon contact.  
  
The Victorian lady smiled. "Your new look is quite becoming.I cannot wait for another Black to pass through Death's gates. But that is your choice as well whether your godfather is to die soon or not. All you have to do is seek out someone marked by us, and deliver them to the spirit lands sooner rather than later. You'd even have the power to choose for them, whether they should move on or grieve further."  
  
For a moment Harry stared at her with his mouth agape. How did they know all this? How did they find out about him wanting to bind with Gabrielle when he had guarded his mind so? They weren't allowed to intervene with a Necromancers life were they?  
  
But keeping everyone he cared for alive long enough to have a meaningful and long life was tempting. So was having a living body again.  
  
"When would I get to talk to the others like myself?" he asked referring to the other Necromancers spread through the world. He had always wondered why he'd never met even the dead ones. Well seems everyone's been hiding things from him, even his parents whom he couldn't blame for wanting to keep him safe.  
  
The Victorian lady shrugged for the first time showing feeling in her once dull and smoky eyes. "Perhaps when you've become the Reaper they'd feel obliged to see you. You'd have to give them orders; they'd have to carry them out. Our world would advise you, to take the load off your shoulders, and you'd just do what is expected until time of your departure in which case you would be free yet still have your privileges as the Reaper if needed. Your killings won't be questioned that you can be assured of."  
  
"Why are you helping me then?"  
  
She smiled as if she held the secrets of the world and Harry had no doubt she did hold some of them.  
  
"Tom Riddle has no right to dispose of people so, his time has long come yet his attempts at immortality will not cease. Many he had killed were not meant to die at those times and we are thus a bit overloaded with magical energy for our tastes. The spirit lands adjust to natural deaths and there is no need for all the magic released to lets say.bump the proverbial scales. To many more deaths occur when the magic of the spirit lands and the magic of the living lands are unbalanced. We need to balance and as soon as possible Ater Angelus."  
  
Bewilderment was written all over his face and the Victorian lady touched his hair whispering something as he felt another chill overrun his body. An eerie smile that seemed almost sad greeted her face.  
  
"In my opinion you looked better with darker hair, and I must admit you seemed very fond of it as well. No need for you to look exactly as your godfather." Harry looked to his shoulder where her smoky appendage was resting to find his hair was the color of a raven again.  
  
"We're not as bad as you think Ater, we do not wish to torment the living as you believe, and we the shadows simply try to balance the world further. Not everything and everyone can be perfect."  
  
"Why do you call me Ater Angelus?" he asked all of a sudden and he almost felt as if the cold wasn't affecting him as it did before.  
  
"Because that's what you are young one, you are the Dark Angel now. You may protect your Blanche Aucella now, and when the time comes for you two to go back you may use these names to get around." The smile on the woman's face had not retreated yet as she spoke with him fondly. And in that moment he realized that the world wasn't supposed to be perfect as she explained. It was supposed to be balanced, there were unfortunately sacrifices for that also but in the end it would be their choice whether they would be rewarded for making the right choices or if they were to be damned for making the wrong ones.  
  
Even if the shadows did offer him the position as Reaper he still didn't have the choice of who should or shouldn't die. He could choose but it wasn't right. Like his father once told him, "There is the easy way, and then there is the right way." And so he repeated the words that his father had told him and instantly the cold left his body and the once smoky woman seemed solid as he was and as clear as he.  
  
"Congratulations Ater, Keeper of the Dead." She presented him with a grand curtsy stepped away respectfully. "You have passed our test. I'm sure your parents are proud. Why not go talk to them Ater?" The woman suggested not once looking to his face but instead sweeping her hand to the right and pointing behind him.  
  
But he did not turn around instead took her hand and lifted her chin so she would be looking at him again. This time he could clearly make out her features. Her pale, china doll face painted with pink rouge on her cheeks and a bright lipstick on her lips. Her blue eyes no longer cloudy and her smile no longer sad, she almost looked alive, if it weren't for the slit in her neck she would seem to be.  
  
"And what my your name be mi-lady?"  
  
"Victoria." She said with an amused chuckle and disappeared into the air leaving Harry to turn around and face the two figures she had been gesturing to before.  
  
They were indeed Lily and James Potter smiling at him and holding hands. The Others had promptly disappeared and they had been left in a bright white room sparsely furbished with pitch-black furniture and black marble floors.  
  
He shuffled his feet a little feeling unsure of what had occurred. Would his parents truly be proud that he was the Keeper of the Dead?  
  
"Harry."his mother spoke out lovingly and let go of his fathers hand to come up and embrace him tightly.  
  
Harry grinned still not at all used to the feeling of either of being able to finally touch them.  
  
"Missed you." He said.  
  
"Missed you too." She answered stroking his hair and standing on the tip of her toes to brush a warm kiss on his forehead. "Congratulations for helping your first Shade onto the spirit lands and congratulations for becoming our new Keeper."  
  
And from then Harry had definitely known that he made the right decision and become the Keeper of Death. His soul would forever be separated from his body but linked through a connection. He'd be alive but in a detached sort of way. Non-the-less, nothing could be better now.  
  
****************  
  
Hours later Harry would wake up to find Gabrielle's slight frame curled up against his warm one. One hand clutched in his now raven black hair and the other unknown to her tracing patterns on his torso.  
  
"My Blanche Aucella." He whispered to her and quietly untangled himself from her grip waiting silently until her sleepy protests calmed and got dressed in muggle clothing, teleporting right there and then out to Hogsmeade where he threw a black trench coat on and apparated further from there to a location unknown not to return for another hour.  
  
TBC.  
  
************************************AUTHOR'S NOTE**********************************  
  
Hi everyone! Sorry for not updating in so long! I really have been busy and it wasn't just laziness. *Crosses her fingers behind her back*  
  
Anyways I hope you like that chapter and weren't to confused by it. If you were just say so in your review and I'll address all the problems. If you want you can IM me at the screen name MetallicLily411 on AIM.  
  
Well I got more chapters to write so see ya later.  
  
P.S. Blanche Aucella means little white bird. It'll make sense later on! Trust me! 


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